An additional dose of measles vaccine will be administered to children aged nine months to five years in vulnerable areas. The announcement was made by Principal Secretary Sanjay Khandare on Friday night after a meeting with the vaccination task force. All state districts were to be informed about the decision last night.
Nearly four lakh children in Maharashtra, with one lakh in Mumbai alone, are eligible for the extra dose of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
For vaccination in the age group of six to nine months, Mr Khandare said the state will stick to the Centre’s guidelines which are given by the technical committee. There has been a 9% year-onyear rise in infections and three deaths in this age group in the last one month.
The existing guidelines mandate the first dose of MMR vaccine at nine months and the second at 15 months. Dr Umang Agrawal, a specialist for infectious diseases at PD Hinduja Hospital and MRC (Mahim), said antibodies from mothers protect new-borns from measles but not all diseases.
If the MMR vaccine is administered in the first six months, when maternal antibodies are still active, the child’s immune response might be blunted. “Maternal antibodies cease at six months and the vaccine isn’t administered till nine months. The risk of infection from six to nine months therefore increases.
Giving the first dose at six to seven months might prove useful. A Lancet study also mentions that the efficacy of the vaccine is good between six and nine months. In an outbreak situation, the vaccine should be given as early as possible, which should be six months,” said Dr Agrawal.
Dr Vaidehi Dande, neonatologist and paediatrician at Symbiosis Hospital in Dadar, said viral infection starts with fever and severe rhinitis lasting for four days, followed by a rash, beginning from the head behind the ears and progressing down to the neck, chest and trunk.
Nearly 4-5% of children who develop measles suffer from complications, some of which, like pneumonia, are serious and life-threatening, she said. “Long-term complications like seizures, progressive weakness leading to death are also possible. Prevention is the only cure available. An effective vaccine is freely available and it should be administered at least thrice,” she said.
