FIGHTING MEASLES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
MEASLES
Every minute a child dies of measles. Even though a safe and effective vaccine exists, outbreaks occur in many parts of the world because routine immunisation programs are not in place or efficient. In many places Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are confronted with outbreaks and have to organise emergency immunisation campaigns, which represent a complex logistical challenge.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), out of the 30 million children affected by measles every year, about half a million die. Most of those deaths occur in Africa and Asia. This contrasts sharply with the Western world where measles cases have become extremely rare thanks to universal routine immunisation. This leads many people to forget that measles is a major killer.
Measles is highly contagious. Symptoms like runny nose, cough, eye infection, and rash appear about 10 to 14 days after exposure to the virus. There are different levels of severity, and deaths following measles infection are usually due to measles-related complications like diarrhoea, dehydration, and respiratory infections (pneumonia, croup). Those deaths can occur weeks after the acute disease and are not always attributed to measles. Mortality can reach 5 percent to 20 percent of measles cases. Initial health condition, access to health care, and proper treatment provision are factors influencing mortality.
2011 International Symposium on Reducing Child Mortality: Thinking outside the hospital for effective medical care
15/07/2011
In the lead-up to the 7th World Congress of the World Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases held in Melbourne, Australia, Médecins Sans Frontières and Epicentre are hosting a one-day satellite symposium to re-think...
Category: Upcoming Events (Events), Lectures & Seminars
Médecins Sans Frontières welcomes initiative by UNICEF to make vaccine prices public
31/05/2011
Geneva, 27 May 2011— In a bid to increase transparency and stimulate competition to bring down the prices of vaccines needed in the developing world, UNICEF has decided to publish the prices it pays to vaccine manufacturers.
Category: Press releases
Zambia: Measles vaccination campaign underway to immunise 600,000 children
24/05/2011
Mansa, Zambia – Médecins Sans Frontières teams are currently working alongside the Zambian health authorities to carry out a measles vaccination campaign with a target of almost 600,000 children. Médecins Sans Frontières launched...
Category: Field news
Treating measles in a remote province of the Democratic Republic of Congo
17/05/2011
In March, the measles epidemic that has raged in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for more than six months reached the remote province of Maniema. Despite the logistical challenges, Médecins Sans Frontières teams are...
Category: Field news
Medical and humanitarian emergency continues as violence persists in Ivory Coast
27/04/2011
21 April 2011: The medical and humanitarian emergency in Ivory Coast persists as violence rages in several neighbourhoods in Abidjan, and security in the west of the country remains critically unstable, with populations hiding in...
Category: Field news
28/03/2011
Over the past six months a measles epidemic has been sweeping through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Médecins Sans Frontières is raising the alarm and calling for concerted action to halt the spread of the disease.
Category: Press releases
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