Indore: Major cause for alarm as measles spreading to rural areas

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The increasing number of measles cases is keeping the city health officials on their toes as the disease is spreading its tentacles in rural areas as well.

The disease had broken out in Khajrana initially but it has spread to more than 18 wards in urban and rural areas. What has alarmed the officials is the spread of the disease in rural areas like Hatod and Sanwer.

“The total number of cases of measles in Indore is 38, so far. Some reports are still pending and it is possible that the number would increase. We have launched the door-to-door survey to prevent the spread of measles in the affected areas,” district immunization officer Dr Tarun Gupta said.

As per the health department’s record, out of 38 total positive cases, more than 50 per cent of the cases were under the age of five years and only one of the patients is above 18 years.

“Age of the youngest patient affected by the disease is 6 months while the oldest is 19 years. The most affected area is Khajrana as more than 20 patients are found from the colonies in the area. Another area of concern is Chandan Nagar and we have intensified survey there to find out the children left unvaccinated,” Dr Gupta said.

The department officials have claimed that they have surveyed over 10,000 houses in the last week and collected more than 15 new samples of suspected children along with distributing medicines to them.

The team is also taking samples of those cured with similar symptoms to find out whether they were infected with the disease or not.

Taking support of religious leaders

The health department has been continuously appealing to religious leaders and seeking their support to motivate community people to take the vaccine against the disease after which some of the parents came forward to get their children vaccinated.