John Adoyi, PBA Journalism Mentee
A recent measles outbreak in Zimbabwe has left about 157 children dead and over 2,000 infected across the country.
The health ministry which had earlier blamed religious gatherings for the wide spread of the virus, said the first case was recorded early August and has soon spread across the entire country with infection growing rapidly with total number of suspected cases across the country jumping from 1,036 to 2,056 in the space of just four days.
Speaking with journalist after the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Information Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa said “As of 15 August the cumulative figures across the country have risen to 2,056 cases and 157 deaths.”
The information minister also said that the outbreak had occurred among children who are not vaccinated and the government is stepping up plans to curb the emergency.
“It has been noted that most cases have not received vaccination to protect against measles. Government has invoked the Civil Protection Unit Act to deal with this emergency,” she said.
Also, the government of the southern African country said it will work with traditional and religious institutions to carry out awareness campaigns to hasten the vaccination of unvaccinated children.
In April, the World Health Organisation had warned that the measles virus is spreading rapidly across the world. According to the UN agency, the cases for this year rose to 80 per cent, adding that the rise in cases of measles was a forewarning of the likely outbreaks of other diseases.
Measles is a disease caused by a virus that attacks mainly children. The most serious complications include blindness, brain swelling, diarrhea, and severe respiratory infections.
Vaccination uptake of at least 95 per cent is the best way to prevent the disease from spreading, though many countries fall far short of that goal, UN said.
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