Health officials in Nigeria are going out in force to vaccinate children against the very contagious viral disease, measles, with at least three states planning to vaccinate some 5 million children.
In Kaduna State, three million children would be vaccinated during the ongoing immunization against measles in the state, according to Malam Hamza Ikara, Health Educator, Kaduna State Primary Healthcare Agency (SPHCA) Saturday.
Ikara said in a statement that that children between nine and 59 months would be vaccinated during the exercise, scheduled for Nov. 21 to Nov. 25.
Kaduna has seen more than 700 measles cases in 2015 to date.
In Jigawa State, the government announced Saturday their plans to target some 1.3 million children across the state. State Immunization Officer, Alhaji Hassan Kwalam said 1,440 designated vaccination centres would be used for the five-day exercise.
A five-day measles vaccination campaign will also began in Kebbi State. Dr Farouk Wakili, the Chairman of Kebbi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency said the campaign would target 700,000 children.
7,775 trained health personnel were conducting the vaccination in 225 wards comprising 1,125 centres, Wakili said.
According to the World Health Organization, in 2014, there were 114,900 measles deaths globally – about 314 deaths every day or 13 deaths every hour.
Measles vaccination resulted in a 79% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2014 worldwide and during 2000-2014, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 17.1 million deaths.
Related:
- Cameroon measles epidemic spreads to Boko Haram controlled areas
- How contagious is measles? Answer: Very
- Despite being taken off polio endemic list, CDC issues advisory for Nigeria
Robert Herriman is a microbiologist and theEditor-in-Chief of Outbreak News Today and the Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch
Follow @bactiman63
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