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Measles cases up three-fold since 2015

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Most cases were in private homes and director-general of health says increase is because children were not immunised.

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Noor-Hisham

PUTRAJAYA:
The number of measles cases reported up to June had increased by 340 percent to 873, compared to 197 during the corresponding period last year.

The director-general of health, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, said the increase in cases was because children were not immunised against the disease.

The majority of cases occurred in private homes (63.6 percent) followed by institutions (28.8 percent) and community (7.6 percent).

“In 2015, there were 1,318 cases of measles with two deaths, but this year, there has not been any deaths,” he said in a statement published on his Facebook page today.

Dr Noor Hisham said 66 outbreaks were reported during the first week of June, a five-fold increase compared to the corresponding period last year.

“In 2014, there were only 11 reported cases of measles (first week of June) and increased to 57 cases in 2015.”

In the case of chicken pox, Dr Noor Hisham said 109 cases were reported this year, a 34.7 percent drop compared to the 167 in 2015 and 125 in 2014.

No deaths from chicken pox were reported in the last three years.

A majority of cases this year involve institutions (90 per cent) such as nurseries, kindergartens, day care centres and detention centres. He said measles and chickenpox could be prevented through vaccinations. The two diseases spread through the air and by direct contact with an infected person’s fluid droplets.

Immunisation against measles would be given to children between the nine and 12 months. However, chicken pox was not included in the National Immunisation Programme.

– BERNAMA

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