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Through April 30 this year, health officials in Tunisia report a large measles outbreak where more than 3100 suspected cases have been reported to date.

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In addition, 30 fatalities have been reported, or a 1 percent case fatality ratio. Kasserine and Sfax  governorates have been most severely affected.

The two most affected age groups were those older than 15 years (31%) and infants between the age of 6 and 12 months (28%).

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The Ministry of Health (MoH) in Tunisia is coordinating the response activities, with the support of WHO and other partners. Public health response measures include:

  • Isolation of all reported cases and rapid initiation of epidemiological investigation including contact tracing.
  • Measures to reduce transmission (isolation of patients, limit hospitalization, and personal protective equipment) at hospitals.
  • Vaccination of unvaccinated children older than 6 months hospitalized in the pediatric hospital.
  • Vaccination of hospital staff (nurses and paramedics) in the pediatric hospital.
  • Vaccination of infants aged 6-11 months in all governorates.
  • Enhancement of active surveillance, identification of measles vaccine dropouts in the affected governorates and their provision with the vaccine.