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Measles infections declining

[Kenya] A child is vaccinated against measles at the GK Kibo Prison Camp, about 8 km from Kisumu city in western Kenya, one of the sites where the integrated measles, vitamin A, and mosquito net campaign was operating, 8 July 2006. The mass vaccination ca Ann Weru/IRIN
Un enfant se fait vacciner contre la rougeole, une maladie particulièrement répandue au Burkina Faso cette année (photo d'archives)
    OUAGADOUGOU

    Reported measles infections and deaths are falling in Burkina Faso following nationwide vaccinations earlier this month, according to the Ministry of Health.



    There were 1,007 measles infections and four deaths reported the week ending 26 June, one-fourth the numbers reported for the last week of April, according to Mété Bonkoungou, the Health Ministry’s vaccine director.



    Burkina Faso has reported 51,000 infections and 300 deaths since the beginning of 2009, the largest outbreak the country has seen in more than 10 years.



    Bonkoungou told IRIN 3,677,000 children were vaccinated from 17 to 21 June – more than expected. “People rushed to get vaccinated because they see [the impact] of measles on their body versus polio, where there is more resistance to vaccination because the consequences are not as visible.”



    Measles first appears as a rash and if not properly treated can result in blindness, encephalitis – swelling of the brain – severe diarrhoea or pneumonia, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).



    More than 6,200 people were trained for the WHO-funded US$2.5-million campaign.



    The Health Ministry is planning another measles vaccination campaign in 2010, said Bonkoungou.



    bo/pt/np

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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