Mumbai: Measles outbreaks may rise in next 5 months

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Health Department fears that the number of measles cases will increase further as November to March is the transmission period. After Mumbai, new outbreaks have already been seen in Buldhana, Aurangabad and Pimpri Chinchwad.

As per the available data, there have already been 82 outbreaks in the state, of which 34 are in Mumbai alone. Malegaon has witnessed 12, Bhiwandi 10, six in Thane, four in Navi Mumbai, three in Vasai-Virar, two each in Aurangabad and Buldhana, and one in Pimpri Chinchwad. There are 724 confirmed cases and 11,777 suspected cases across the state in 82 clusters. So far, 15 deaths have been reported, of which 11 are from Mumbai, three from Bhiwandi and one from Vasai-Virar.

State Surveillance Officer Dr Pradip Awate said, “We have instructed the task force to identify malnourished children and administer vitamin A supplements to ensure their nutritional status improves. The task force has been established in all districts to monitor the situation. The health department has also directed the districts to increase vaccination in hotspots.”

Dr Awate said till date 25,000 children have been given Vitamin A supplements and 16,624 have been immunised with measles-mumps-rubella vaccines (MMR1, MMR2).

“Currently the cases are spreading in two ways: complete and sporadic outbreaks. Measles is not restricted to Mumbai; it has now spread to other districts and we predict cases will rise in the coming five months. We urge parents to get their children vaccinated during special drives,” he added.