9-Nov-2022: Centre deploys High Level team to Mumbai to assess and manage outbreak of Measles cases
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to depute a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Mumbai to take stock of the upsurge in cases of Measles in the city. The team will assist the State Health Authorities in instituting public health measures and facilitate operationalization of requisite control and containment measures.
The 3 member Central team to Mumbai comprises of experts drawn from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), New Delhi and Regional Office for Health and Family Welfare, Pune, Maharashtra. The team is headed by Dr. Anubhav Srivastava, Deputy Director, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), NCDC.
The team will also undertake field visits to investigate the outbreak and assist the State Health Departments in terms of public health measures, management guidelines and protocols to manage the increasing cases of Measles being reported in Mumbai.
8-Jul-2020: Maldives, Sri Lanka eliminate measles and rubella, ahead of 2023 target
Maldives and Sri Lanka were today verified for having eliminated rubella, making them the first two countries in WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve measles and rubella elimination ahead of the 2023 target.
“Protecting all children against these killer and debilitating diseases is an important step in our endeavor to achieve healthier population and health for all,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, congratulating Maldives and Sri Lanka on their achievement.
The announcement was made after the fifth meeting of the South-East Asia Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination, held virtually. The Commission comprises of 11 independent international experts in the fields of epidemiology, virology and public health. A country is verified as having eliminated measles and rubella when there is no evidence of endemic transmission of the measles and rubella viruses for over three years in the presence of a well performing surveillance system.
Maldives reported last endemic case of measles in 2009 and of rubella in October 2015, while Sri Lanka reported last endemic case of measles in May 2016 and of rubella in March 2017.
Coming at a time when the entire world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, this success is encouraging and demonstrates the importance of joint efforts, Dr Khetrapal Singh said, lauding the Ministries of Health, health workforce, partners, and most importantly the communities, who together contributed to this public health achievement.
The Regional Director commended Member countries’ efforts to deliver life-saving vaccines to children even while battling the pandemic. “Though mass vaccination activities have been postponed in several countries, it is encouraging to see that efforts are underway to resume them at the soonest,” she said.
In a global survey, more than half of all countries reported moderate-to-severe disruptions, or a total suspension of vaccination services in March and April. Preliminary information from the Region suggests both immunization coverage and surveillance have been impacted. However, countries in WHO South-East Asia Region have been making concerted efforts to resume immunization and surveillance activities and plug gaps that have arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent years, all countries in the Region introduced two doses of measles-containing vaccine and at least one dose of rubella-containing vaccine in their routine immunization programme. First-dose coverage of measles-containing vaccine is now 88% and the second-dose coverage 76%. Since 2017, nearly 500 million additional children have been vaccinated with measles and rubella-containing vaccine. Surveillance for measles and rubella has been strengthened further.
“We cannot allow for our progress towards measles and rubella elimination to be put on hold or reversed. We must achieve our 2023 target,” the Regional Director said, adding that WHO is committed to supporting Member countries and partners to fully revive immunization and surveillance activities, and to refine the strategic, operational and policy guidelines that will facilitate progress towards our goal.
“Now more than ever, we must pull together to realize our vision of a Region in which no child suffers or dies from a disease as easily prevented as measles; where no pregnant woman loses her unborn baby due to a virus as avoidable as rubella; and where no neonate is born with a heart ailment or loss of hearing owing to a tragedy as needless as in-utero rubella infection,” Dr Khetrapal Singh said.
Member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region had in September last year set 2023 as target for elimination of measles and rubella, revising the goal of the flagship programme that since 2014 had focused on measles elimination and rubella control.
Bhutan, DPR Korea and Timor-Leste are other countries in the Region who have eliminated measles.
9-Jul-2019: Sri Lanka eliminates measles
The World Health Organization announced Sri Lanka has eliminated measles, interrupting transmission of the indigenous virus that causes the killer childhood disease.
Sri Lanka’s achievement comes at a time when globally measles cases are increasing. The country’s success demonstrates its commitment, and the determination of its health workforce and parents to protect children against measles.
An independent verification committee reviewed in detail all data and ongoing efforts for measles elimination in the island nation and concluded that Sri Lanka has stopped transmission of indigenous measles virus. The country reported its last case of measles caused by an indigenous virus in May 2016. Sporadic cases, reported in the last three years have all been importations that were quickly detected, investigated and rapidly responded to.
Sri Lanka’s success follows its persistent efforts to ensure maximum coverage with two doses of measles and rubella vaccines being provided in the childhood immunisation programme. The vaccination coverage in the country has been consistently high – over 95% with both the first and second dose of measles and rubella vaccine provided to children under the routine immunization programme. Additionally, mass vaccination campaigns with a measles-rubella vaccine have been held periodically to plug the immunization gaps, the last one in 2014.
The country has a strong surveillance system and all vaccine-preventable diseases are an integral part of the communicable disease surveillance system. Measles is a notifiable disease in the country.
The risk of importations of measles virus from countries near and far will remain, specially from those that have significant population movement with Sri Lanka. Further strengthening immunity of the vulnerable population, capacities to detect and readiness to respond to measles virus both at the national and sub-national levels, would be the key to the country’s continued measles-free status in the coming years.
Sri Lanka is the fourth country in WHO South-East Asia Region, after Bhutan, Maldives and Timor-Leste, to eliminate measles and control rubella, a flagship priority programme of WHO in the Region, ahead of the 2020 regional target. Last year Sri Lanka achieved rubella control, along with five other countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Timor-Leste.
With Sri Lanka’s recent achievement, five countries of the Region have now eliminated measles. In 2017-18 Bhutan, Maldives, DPR Korea and Timor-Leste eliminated measles. While measles is a major childhood killer disease, rubella causes irreversible deformities and disabilities in newborns.
Elimination of measles is a good indicator of the strength of immunization systems generally and, by extension, of the quality and reach of the primary health care system.
All 11 countries in WHO South-East Asia Region, home to one-fourth of the global population, have been accelerating efforts to eliminate measles and control rubella by also leveraging reach and support of existing networks such as of the polio eradication programme.
Elimination of measles is achieved when a country interrupts transmission of indigenous virus for three years. Rubella control is achieved when a country reduces the number of rubella cases by 95% as compared to cases in 2008.