Lebanon health officials are reporting a measles outbreak in the country. Since November 2018, a total of 1,171 cases have been reported and no deaths.
Measles cases have been reported in all eight Lebanese governorates, with Aakar, Baalbek-El-Hermel, Bekaa North, and Mount Lebanon governorates most affected. Ninety percent of suspected measles cases were Lebanese nationals, while 10% were Syrians living in informal settlements and in residential areas.
According to officials, the immunization strategy employed by the Lebanon public health sector includes both measles vaccine given at 9 months of age (introduced in 1987), and Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccine given to children as two doses at 12 and 18 months of age (MMR, introduced in 1996). The private sector implements MMR vaccination, at 12 months and 4-5 years of age.
In Lebanon, between 2000 to 2018, the WHO-UNICEF coverage estimations for second dose of measles-containing-vaccine ranged from 15 -75 percent with a median coverage of 63 percent.
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