Drop in Cases of Measles

7 June 2011

Maputo — Mozambican health authorities have reported in the first five months of this year 137 suspected cases of measles across the country, of which 55 were declared positive, down from 188 reported in the same period in 2010.

According to the spokesperson of the Health Ministry, Leonardo Chavana, measles was reported in several provinces. However, the central province of Manica is a major concern for the government because members of a local religious sect refuse to support the vaccination programmes.

Chavana explained that the Health Ministry has decided to deploy a team to that province to sensitise the members of the sect to the importance of their participation in vaccination programmes, “as a means not to compromise the growth of their children”.

“It is wrong for a parent to endanger the life of his children because of a lack of a vaccination. The Health Ministry respects any social, ideological, religious or cultural belief, but will never respect decisions that endanger the lives of children”, stressed Chavana.

Manica shares a long border with Zimbabwe, a country where, according to international media reports, there are thousands of measles cases each year which result in death of hundreds of children.

Official statistics indicate that during the first five months of 2010 there were 405 suspected measles cases investigated in Mozambique. The health authorities collected 397 samples for laboratory tests, resulting in 188 confirmed cases.

The overall rate of measles was 5.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which was higher than the recommended rate set by the World Health Organization (WHO) of 2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

In the provinces where no major outbreaks of measles were reported, namely Gaza, Inhambane and the capital Maputo, all in the southern region of Mozambique, the rate of detection was 1.7 per 100,000 inhabitants during the period under review.

Currently, the Health Ministry is making efforts to increase the rate of vaccination against measles and remains on alert due to outbreaks of measles recently reported in neighbouring countries, particularly South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

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