Published Date: 2010-05-11 16:19:52
Subject: PRO/EAFR> Measles - Africa (18): Malawi
Archive Number: 20100511.207265

MEASLES - AFRICA (18): MALAWI
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Date: Mon 10 May 2010
Source: AfricaNews [edited]
http://www.africanews.com/site/Measles_attacks_3026_kills_8_in_Malawi/list_messages/31868


Malawi: measles attacks 3026, kills 8
-------------------------------------
The outbreak of measles in Malawi has taken ill over 3000 people and
killed 8 in Blantyre alone. By Monday [10 May 2010], 26 cases had
been recorded in Mwanza and Neno districts. Health officials had last
week [week ending 9 May 2010] announced it would require USD 4.1
million to vaccinate over 6 million children countrywide. The
situation has forced the government to jump the gun and implement its
3 year interval measles civic education and vaccination campaign to
kick start immediately. 4 districts in Malawi's Southern region,
including Blantyre, are now on the crash programme.

Last week [week ending 9 May 2010] campaigns were rolled out in
Blantyre, Chiradzulu, and Mzimba districts. Deputy Minister of Health
Theresa Mwale said: "With assistance from MSF [Medecins Sans
Frontieres], France, and Belgium we have rolled out this vaccination
campaign. We are mainly targeting children below 15."

She called on all people to go for the vaccination. A Ministry of
Health official in Blantyre, Dr Grace Chatsika said it was not yet
known what is causing the outbreak at this time. "We are still
carrying out our investigations and we hope soon we will identify the
cause," she said.

Symptoms [of measles] include a rash, running nose, temperature, and
red eyes. In Mwanza alone 13 cases have been recorded and 11 in Neno
district in the Southern region. "Vaccination has already rolled out
in hot spot areas but there is need to cover the entire districts as
soon as we can," said Mwanza District Health officer, Dr Frank Sanyizi.

In a related scenario, 2 children died of measles last week [week
ending 9 May 2010] in over-populated Chinsapo residential area just
some 15 kilometres away from the main referral Kamuzu Central
Hospital, and 3 kilometres from the Catholic run Likuni Hospital in
the capital city, Lilongwe. Both the official and non-official
figures currently add to 3026 sick and 8 dead. Cases from other
districts across the country continue to be tallied.

[Byline: Mtheto Lungu]

--
Communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[The escalation of the measles outbreaks in Malawi has prompted the
authorities to bring forward the national measles immunization
campaigns that are usually held every 3 years. However there is need
to determine the cause of the outbreaks to inform program planning to
control the disease.

A map showing the regions of Malawi can be seen at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_Malawi. The
HealthMap/ProMED interactive map of the country is available at
http://healthmap.org/r/01am. - Mod.JFW]

See Also

Measles - Africa (17): Zimbabwe 20100508.207208
Measles - Africa (16): Zimbabwe 20100501.207073
Measles - Africa (15): Mauritania 20100428.207022
Measles - Africa (14): Malawi 20100422.206898
Measles - Africa (13): South Africa 20100421.206879
Measles - Africa (12): Zimbabwe 20100416.206801
Measles - Zambia: (Lusaka) 20100414.206758
Measles - South Africa (13): (Western Cape) 20100411.206683
Measles - South Africa (12): (Western Cape) 20100401.206472
Measles - Zimbabwe (04): Bulawayo 20100323.206287


[Additional background information on measles is available from the
general ProMED-mail list. The postings below can be found at
http://www.promedmail.org. - Mod.JFW


[Measles - Russia: (AM), ex China 20100508.1503
Measles - Yemen: (SA) 20100503.1440
Measles - Poland: Roma population, 2008-2009 20100430.1408
Measles - Spain: (MU) 20100429.1380
Measles - Africa (14): West, Central 20100424.1333
Measles - Philippines (04): (IB) 20100424.1325
Measles - Africa (13): Malawi 20100422.1302
Measles - Canada (03): (BC), USA (WA) alert 20100419.1275
...................................jfw/mj/be

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