Health Alerts

On a more positive note than most of the measles news we have posted lately, the WHO SE Asian regional office announced that Sri Lanka has interrupted measles transmission ‘at a time when globally measles cases are increasing’ -  May 2016 was the last time an indigenous measles case was recorded. In other news: Chad – nine fewer districts are reporting measles epidemics however in the last week of June there were still 555 suspected cases and four related deaths, taking the YTD total to more than 22,000 and 215 deaths. While Ethiopia’s measles infections are nearing the 7,000-mark with many of those reported from Oromia, Amhara and Solami regions. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has reported on vaccination campaigns underway in response to Ukraine’s continuing high rates of measles - the YTD total at the end of May reached 52,034 cases. Among the most affected regions, there has been a marked improvement in Lviv, however high monthly case numbers in Kharkiv and Kyiv are of concern to the agency. According to a 2019 public health report, for the past three years, the uptake of the first dose of MMR vaccine in Ireland for children at their second birthday has been 92% (target 95%), with one area south of Dublin recording only 84% in 2018. 60 measles cases have been reported in the republic to June this year. New Zealand’s total of measles cases rose to 280 on July 5, with the highest incidence of infections in the 20 to 29yo age group (71 cases) followed by 10–19yo (54) and under 15 months (51). The Counties Manukau Health Board of southern Auckland has reported most cases this year (76). In Australia, the health departments in Qld (Brisbane, Gold Coast) and NSW (Sydney) have issued alerts relating to several measles cases reported over the past week. Read more.