Five times more people fell ill with measles in Ukraine than last year – Ministry of Health

Five times more people fell ill with measles in Ukraine than last year – Ministry of Health

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In Ukraine, 55 cases of measles were recorded in 11 months of this year. At the same time, only 11 were registered in 2022. No fatal cases were registered in 2023.

So far, the disease has been registered in 13 regions and the capital. The largest number of cases occurred in Ternopil region – 12, in Kyiv – 10, and in Lviv region – 7. Among the 55 who fell ill in 2023, 31 were children under the age of 17, the Ministry of Health reports.

The situation with measles in the world remains tense, in Romania at the beginning of the month a measles epidemic was announced, outbreaks and an increase in the incidence rate are recorded in several countries. – noted Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Ihor Kuzin.

Kuzin adds, 5 point outbreaks of measles were recorded in Ukraine during 2023, which managed to be localized and which did not develop into mass diseases. In particular, to prevent the outbreak of measles in the country in the summer, within the framework of the nationwide “catch-up vaccination” campaign, 153,000 children, who missed them due to the war, change of residence or other circumstances, were vaccinated.

Photo: Miilkos/Depositphotos

According to the Ministry of Health, among the sick in 2023, 12% did not have any vaccination, 30% – only one, in 20% of cases there was no information about vaccination.

Almost 30% of those invited did not show up for vaccination due to departure or temporary residence abroad. I draw the attention of parents: if the child missed the vaccination or had contraindications at the time of the visit to the doctor, contact the doctor again and adjust the vaccination. The vaccine is available in all regions“, Kuzin adds

The Ministry reminded that according to the Preventive Vaccination Calendar, every child should receive two doses of the PDA vaccine – at 12 months and at 6 years.

Vaccinations are free of charge and allow you to form specific immunity against measles, mumps and rubella or, in case of illness, to tolerate it more easily and avoid complications. There is no medicine against measles, so vaccination is the only means of protection against the disease in the world.

The Ministry of Health reminds that measles outbreaks are cyclical and recur approximately once every five years. And measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases: 9 out of 10 unvaccinated people are at risk of getting sick after contact with a sick person.

The most vulnerable to infection are children who do not have vaccinations. The period from infection to the appearance of symptoms is 10-12 days. Then the signs of the disease appear: high fever, runny nose, dry cough, diarrhea and vomiting.

Complications of measles include lung inflammation (pneumonia), ear infection (otitis media), brain inflammation (encephalitis), other serious complications, as well as disability and death.

We will remind you that earlier we wrote that the probability of a measles outbreak this year is very high, in Kyiv more than 6,000 children are not vaccinated against measles and what to do if a child has been in contact with a measles patient.

Read also: The number of deaths from measles is increasing in the world due to a decrease in the level of vaccination – WHO

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