Measles outbreak affects 20,000 people in Madagascar

The epidemic has spread to all regions and major cities of the country, reports CNN.

Measles is very contagious. Coughing and sneezing spread the virus, which can remain in the air for up to two hours after being spread by a patient. If you are not immune, you may be infected by breathing in the air or by touching an infected surface.

The symptoms are a high fever, a cough, runny nose and inflammation of the eye, as well as a red rash all over the body.

The condition of patients with measles can worsen rapidly and cause encephalitis, deafness and death in extreme cases. Patients who are malnourished or have weakened immune systems are at risk of losing their lives.

According to CNN, health authorities have indicated that immunization coverage was less than 50% at the beginning of the epidemic due to a poor and poorly funded health system, as well as lack of routine immunization.

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Immunization coverage should be about 95% so that the virus can not gain a foothold.

Prior to the development of the first effective measles vaccine in the 1960s, approximately 2.6 million people died of the virus each year.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 110,000 people died of measles, mostly children under five years old.

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