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NUR-SULTAN – On April 1, Kazakh hospitals expanded their free measles vaccination program in response to an outbreak in late 2018 and a more recent epidemic in Europe.
Photo credit: ortcom.kz.
the data from daily surveillance from 1 January recorded 4,670 cases of measles in Kazakhstan, reports Ministry of Health care. The majority (71.2%) of cases involve children under 14 years of age. To date, 74 patients are under treatment, including 19 at Nur-Sultan.
National clinics use the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. The World Health Organization (WHO) guarantees its safety. More than 70 countries have used this vaccine, including Kazakhstan, in the last 10 years.
The SK-Pharmacia distribution company purchased 651,500 doses of vaccine at the expense of the national budget for 788.4 million tenge ($ 2.08 million). In May, another 468,000 doses of vaccine will be purchased. The price per dose is 1,209 Tenge (3,2 USD).
More than 10,000 people were vaccinated at the end of March.
Unvaccinated pregnant women, who missed vaccination because of the shortage of vaccines in the late 1980s and early 1990s, spread the infection, said the Chair of the Public Health Protection Committee of the Ministry of Health – The Chief Medical Officer of Health, Zhandarbek Bekshin, at a press conference held on March 29 at the Central Office of Communication.
"In view of the epidemiological situation of viral infections, including measles, we recommend to mothers of young children and to all those who have not received preventive vaccination for various reasons to refrain from traveling. in busy places until the measles epidemic has stabilized, "says Bekshin.
Chairman of the Public Health Protection Committee of the Ministry of Health – Chief Medical Officer of Health, Zhandarbek Bekshin. Photo credit: ortcom.kz.
Vaccination will be free for the following categories: infants 9 months old, people under 30 years of age with unknown vaccination status, people who have not been vaccinated and who have not had measles, vaccinated five or more years ago with a single measles vaccine in the foci of infection and medical workers at higher risk of infection due to frequent contact with potential patients.
According to the data of the Ministry of Health, Unvaccinated children account for 60.2% of the incidence of measles in Kazakhstan. Yet 54% of these unvaccinated children are under 12 years old.
With regard to children over one year of age, 32% were not vaccinated due to medical problems, such as acute illnesses and exacerbation of chronic diseases, oncological diseases and severe progressive diseases of the central nervous system. The remaining 13.9% of children were not vaccinated because of their parents' refusal.
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