The Kurla, Sakinaka and Chandivali areas in the city have surpassed Govandi in the number of confirmed cases of measles. From January 2022 till January 6, 2023, as many as 14 outbreaks and 73 confirmed cases were reported in the L-ward comprising these areas. The M-East ward which includes hotpots like Gvandi witnessed seven outbreaks and 71 cases in this period.
As per BMC data, till October 2022 there were 90 cases of measles in the city. However, in November and December, multiple outbreaks were reported from several parts of the city, taking the number of confirmed cases to 563. Moreover, 16 measles deaths have been reported, of which eight died due to measles, while the other 8 are suspected deaths due to the disease.
Senior officials from the civic health department said that L-ward continues to report suspected measles cases, but the number has reduced compared to November and December last year. Earlier, civic health centres saw around 20 suspected cases of fever with rash, but now four to five suspected cases are reported every day. There are several reasons for the outbreak, of which vaccine hesitancy is a major cause.
A health official said, “The local authorities are continuously monitoring the situation. Out of the total estimated population eligible for vaccination, around 45% has been vaccinated. There is refusal but the on-field staff is convincing parents to immunise their kids.”
Out of the total 2,62,369 children in the age group of nine months to five years in 81 health posts, 1,12,860 (43.02%) children were given the special booster dose. Besides, 2,666 (50.37%) of the total 5,293 children in the age group of six to nine months were given the zero dose.
A high level of vaccine hesitancy has been reported from some areas; parents express concerns that vaccinations would make their children sick. In some communities, they don’t bring their children for vaccination at all.
“We started door-to-door campaigns and have been educating people on the dangers of missed vaccination with the help of local health care workers. Moreover, the civic body has roped in community and religious leaders to help spread awareness and educate parents on when to bring children for vaccination,” a doctor said.
