Published Date: 2010-06-08 17:17:24
Subject: PRO/EAFR> Measles - Africa (22): Malawi, RFI
Archive Number: 20100608.208543

MEASLES - AFRICA (22): MALAWI, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
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Date: Mon 7 Jun 2010
Source: Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) [machine translated - original
in German, edited]
http://www.aerzte-ohne-grenzen.de/informieren/einsatzlaender/afrika/malawi/2010/2010-06-07-malawi-masernimpfkampagne/

Malawian officials have reported that there are currently more than
9000 measles cases and 44 deaths. The measles epidemic threshold has
already been exceeded in 23 out of the 28 districts of the country,
while new cases have been reported in other districts. The teams have
for now focused their efforts on 6 districts including Blantyre,
Chiradzulu, Lilongwe, Mangochi, Thyolo and Mzimba where most measles
patients have been reported. Since April 2010, MSF teams together
with the Ministry of Health have treated more than 8100 cases. MSF
has supported hospitals and health centers in 88 cities in the
country with personal training, free treatment of patients and
equipment. In addition, a dedicated station was set up in a Blantyre
prison prison where a measles outbreak was reported.

To prevent worsening of the epidemic, MSF and the Ministry of Health
are conducting mass vaccinations. The teams in the districts of
Blantyre, Mzimba and Chiradzulu vaccinated 1.1 million children aged
6 months to 15 years during the period 3 May to 18 May 2010. Another
vaccination campaign was conducted in Thyolo district, starting 10
May 2010 where around 285 000 children are targeted for vaccination.

More vaccination campaigns in the the districts Lilongwe (900 000
vaccinations planned) and Mangochi (400 000 vaccinations planned) are
in preparation. Other MSF teams are in the process of evaluating the
situation in other districts, where measles outbreaks have been
reported. In these areas, the teams have initiated the treatment of
cases, and the vaccination campaign targeting 400 000 children starts
on 12 Jun 2010. Despite all these efforts, the current Measles
epidemic in Malawi is very worrying. More resources must therefore be
mobilized at the national and international level to respond
adequately and to prevent more people from losing their lives.

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

[Concerted efforts by the government and partners have been mounted
to contain the measles outbreaks in Malawi. However, with more than
80 percent of the districts having surpassed the measles epidemic
threshold, it's critical that national leadership and international
collaboration are utilized to mobilize adequate resources to contain
the outbreaks.

Information on reported measles cases and vaccination coverages with
one or more MCVs (measles containing vaccines) in Milawi available in
the WHO database are presented below by year.

Reported measles cases: 2009 (21) / 2008 (20) / 2007 (143) / 2006 (1)
/ 2005 (184) / 2000 (304)

Reported vaccination coverages: 2009 (92) / 2008 (88) / 2007 (83) /
2006 (85) / 2005 (82) / 2000 (N/A)

While vaccination coverages in 2009 were greater than 92 percent, if
one checks the trends from 1980 onward, one sees that except for
1994-1998, coverages remained below 90 percent, leading to
significant pockets of susceptibles.

(available at
http://apps.who.int/immunization_monitoring/en/globalsummary/countryprofileselect.cfm,
and select Malawi)

More information on the age distribution and vaccination histories of
the cases would be appreciated.

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. - Mods.JFW/MPP]

See Also

Measles - Africa (21): Swaziland 20100608.208541
Measles - Africa (20): Zimbabwe 20100526.207614
Measles - Africa (19) 20100524.207547
Measles - Africa (18): Malawi 20100511.207265
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

[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 - Australia (03): (WA) nosocomial, alert 20100607.1897
Measles - Philippines (05) 20100523.1708
Measles, nosocomial - Slovenia (02), ex Ireland 20100521.1691
Measles, nosocomial - Slovenia, ex Ireland 20100520.1674
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
...................jfw/ejp/mpp
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