Routine vaccination of kids to combat measles pushed

MANILA, Philippines - To combat measles which kills 330 people worldwide every day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is pushing for the routine vaccination of children against the disease. 

According to WHO, routine vaccinations should be combined with mass immunization campaigns in countries with high measles incidence and death rates. It said that these activities are “key public health strategies to reduce measles deaths.”

WHO estimates that globally, 330 people die from measles daily and most of them are children below five years old. 

WHO said all of the six WHO regions have committed to regional measles elimination goals. The global goal, however, calls for five of the six regions to reach elimination status by 2020.

“Since 2009, more than 230 million children have been immunized against measles through mass vaccination campaigns in 37 countries and areas in WHO’s Western Pacific region,” WHO said in a statement.

But globally more than one billion people have been vaccinated since 2000 with the support of the Measles and Rubella Initiative through routine immunization and mass campaigns.

WHO added that the “challenges in eliminating measles reflect the wider challenges in implementing childhood immunization programs, targeting a range of diseases.”

The agency defines measles as a “highly contagious viral disease” that can lead to severe complications such as pnuemonia, diarrhea, encephalitis or a dangerous infection of the brain, and blindness.  

Measles, which can be fatal, is transmitted through droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons.  

Its symptoms, which usually appear 10 to 12 days after infection, include high fever, runny nose, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth. 

In its website, WHO said that while measles deaths globally have decreased by 78 percent in recent years from 562,400 deaths in 2000 to 122,000 in 2012, “measles is still common in many developing countries, particularly in parts of Africa and Asia.”

“Indeed, more than 20 million people are affected by measles each year. The overwhelming majority (more than 95 percent) of measles deaths occur in countries with low per capita incomes and weak health infrastructure,” it said.

WHO said anti-measles vaccines have been in use for 50 years and that they are “safe, effective and inexpensive.” It recommends immunization for all susceptible children and adults for whom measles vaccination is not contraindicated. 

“Reaching all children with two doses of measles vaccine, either alone or in a measles-rubella or measles-mumps-rubella combination, should be the standard for all national immunization programs,” it added.