The measles and rubella vaccination campaign takes off on 22 October

Accra, September 30th, GNA – The Ghana Health
Service (GHS) would launch, from Wednesday, October 17, the Measles-Rubella program
Vaccination all over the country with a view to eliminating the child killer
diseases.

The six-day exercise, which aims to
children from nine months to five years, is to ensure that those who have never
vaccinated against viral diseases would be covered, while
the vaccinated would receive a booster.

Dr. John B. K. Yabani, Acting Deputy
Director of Public Health for the Greater Accra Region, who announced
regional stakeholders meeting in Accra, appealed to regional ministers,
district and metropolitan leaders to help educate and mobilize
parents for exercise.

He said oral vitamin A supplement, which helps
maintain a healthy vision and ensure the normal functioning of the immune system
system, among other benefits, would be administered with the injectable
vaccines.

Dr. Yabani explained that for Ghana to
eliminate measles and rubella, at least 95% of children should be
vaccinated.

However, about 100,000 children, he said, were
annually during routine vaccination, which is administered at 9 am
months and repeated as a reminder when they reached 18 months.

He attributed the situation to some parents
reject vaccination for religious or cultural reasons, ignorance and
geographic barriers to health teams and facilities.

Therefore, the health staff and
volunteers to participate in the impending campaign would work both
fixed and mobile points, thus visiting schools, markets and hard to reach
places.

"The vaccines are very good and many of us
living testimonials of their effectiveness, "said Dr. Yabani.

"We've seen the benefits of it since
we started in the 1990s and it is very encouraging that since 2003, no
measles-related deaths have been reported in Ghana. But we must strive for totally
eliminate the disease. "

In the Greater Accra region, 773,000 children
should be covered during the exercise.

He has been in charge of the media and non-governmental organizations
organizations to help make the campaign, which will end on Monday,
October 22, a complete success.

The measles and rubella viruses are both
transmitted from person to person when the infected droplets are inhaled
patients during sneezing or coughing; as viruses reside in the mucus in the
the mouth and the nose.

Viruses could also be transmitted from
mother to child, especially during pregnancy.

Rubella, also called German measles,
is transmitted during pregnancy by placenta in the circulatory system
of the unborn child, causing miscarriage or the birth of an infant
Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS).

Although rubella is usually benign, medical
experts say that CRS in infants is dangerous and can cause complications, including
blindness, deafness, mental retardation, heart defects (heart hole) and
host of other conditions – from diabetes to autism (a disorder that affects the
social, emotional and behavioral development of children).

Some common symptoms of measles and rubella
the infections are fever, rashes, runny nose, cough and red eyes.

GNA