DUSHANBE, October 5, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Ministry of Health (MoH) denies rumors about alleged mass hospitalization of schoolchildren following the national measles and rubella immunization campaign as “unfounded.”
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Sherali Rahmatulloyev, the head of the MoH medical services and family planning department, confirmed that there had been separate cases of hospitalization of school students after the measles and rubella vaccination. “Indeed, three cases vaccine reaction have been reported at Dushanbe’s School # 29 and single cases of reaction to the vaccine have been reported in Gorno Badakhshan, Sughd province, as well as Varzob, Tursunzoda and Rasht districts,” said Rahmatulloyev, “Like any other medicine, vaccine may have side effects but they are not dangerous to children’s health.”
As it had been reported earlier, a mass national measles and rubella immunization campaign was launched in Tajikistan on September 28. More than 3 million U.S. dollars have reportedly been provided for carrying out the measles and rubella immunization campaign that will run through October 12. The vaccination campaign is carried out amongst more than 2.5 million children between 12 months and 14 years old.
According to Tajik health officials, such a large-scale nationwide rubella vaccination campaign is being held in Tajikistan for the first time because before that, the country had not had enough funds for carrying such events. The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Red Cross, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have provided support for carrying out the immunization campaign this year.
Measles is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red yes and a generalized, maculopapular, erythematous rash. Measles is spread through respiration and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity sharing a house with an infected person will catch it.
According to WHO, measles is a leading cause of vaccine-preventable childhood mortality. Worldwide, the fatality rate has been significantly reduced by partners in the Measles Initiative: the American red Cross, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Foundation, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). Globally, measles deaths are down 60 percent, from an estimated 873,000 deaths in 1999 to 345,000 in 2005.
