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Vaccination rate against measles reaches about 98 per cent in Moldova

21:05 | 21.11.2018 Category: Social

Chisinau, 21 November /MOLDPRES/ – The vaccination rate against measles has reached about 98 per cent. The announcement was made today by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Healthcare, Labour and Social Protection, Aliona Serbulenco, during parliamentary hearings on the situation of measles diseases.

According to the reported source, in 2005, the vaccination rate in Moldova was 97 per cent and in 2007 the immunisation rate decreased to 87 per cent. "The highest rate of vaccination is attested in the northern districts of Moldova, and the lowest in the east and south. Since the beginning of 2018, there have been reported 326 cases of measles. Fortunately, death cases did not occur. According to the data, over 87 per cent of infected people were not vaccinated. Also, there are children who got sick because they only received a dose of the vaccine. Most people became infected while they were outside the country," said Serbulenco.  

The State Secretary noted that the number of cases of measles was very small in the first part of 2018, but it increased significantly in August – 234 confirmed cases. "The most affected were children aged 5 – 9 years, followed by children between 1 – 4 years of age. The situation diminished in October – 9 cases. Since the beginning of November, there have been 14 cases, and there are suspicions about six others. All confirmed cases were recorded in Soroca. These are children of Roma origin who have not been vaccinated. Currently, the yellow code on the risk of measles spreading is maintained throughout Moldova. They have already begun procurement procedures for 2019. Similarly, we are going to buy vaccines against diphtheria, a virus that has already caused illnesses in Ukraine. Our country has not bought such vaccines for over 10 years," said Aliona Serbulenco.

At the same time, according to the healthcare official, situations have been established when doctors have frauded the vaccine. In this respect, it was notified the Prosecutor General's Office.

The head of the General Education Directorate of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, Valentin Crudu, said that at present 10 children from Gagauzia do not attend educational institutions due to nonaccuration. "The number of unvaccinated children has decreased from 7,000 to 3,000. It is a success. There are districts where the children were vaccinated 100 per cent. The vaccination levels have risen after respondents have discussed with parents about the risks of the virus," said Crudu.

The epidemiologists remind the population that measles is a highly contagious disease and is spreading rapidly. The first sign of infection is high fever, which lasts for 1 – 7 days. The generalised eruptions occur 3 – 4 days after the onset of fever. Pneumonia is the most common cause of death in measles.

Measles can only be prevented by vaccination. In Moldova, vaccination is carried out with measles, mumps and rubella (ROR) combined vaccine at one year, 6 – 7 years and 14 – 15 years of age. Vaccination is free for all eligible persons.

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