EXPERTS yesterday warned against unnecessary panic over the reappearance of the measles on the island after many years and urged parents whose children had not received the vaccine to do so.
The disease was virtually eliminated but for the first time in years, health authorities are seeing an increase in measles cases, with seven so far this year and four in the last month alone.
It is believed that 13 per cent of children in Cyprus have not been vaccinated for measles.
“There is no reason to worry or panic. The incidents are isolated,” said Dr Christos Rodoulis, chairman of the paediatric society.
He said most of the cases were imported from other European countries where there are small epidemics.
In Bulgaria, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDPC), a measles outbreak started in April 2009, and has accelerated since the beginning of this year.
As of March 18, 2010, the cumulative number of cases reported is 9,314, of which 7,065 were reported in 2010, and includes 15 deaths, the ECDPC said.
Children and young adults below 15 years of age are predominantly affected accounting for about 70 per cent of cases. Further most of the cases were not immunised and the fatal cases died within hours of admission to the hospital.
Four of the cases in Cyprus concern members of one family, who all contracted it from a member who came from abroad.
“There is no reason for concern as the majority of the children in Cyprus have received the measles vaccine,” Rodoulis said.
The measles jab, also known as MMR because it covers the mumps and rubella, is administered to children between the ages of 12 and 15 months and a booster dose when they are aged between four and six.
“We suggest to parents to check and any children who have not been vaccinated in these ages should do as soon as possible,” Rodoulis said.
Ninety-five per cent of the population must be vaccinated in order to have effective coverage, experts say.
The head of the Health Ministry’s epidemic monitoring unit and control of infectious disease Dr. Chrystalla Hadjianastasiou said there was no reason to worry but as a precaution, the children who have not been vaccinated should do so.
“It is not considered an epidemic; the incidents are sporadic. What we are doing is sensitising people,” she said.
Hadjianastasiou said a survey showed that 13 per cent of children between 17 and 24 months had not received their jab and although one cannot assume they were all left uncovered –some may have been vaccinated later – a certain number probably remains unvaccinated.
In the UK, a slump in the uptake of vaccines has been blamed on unfounded fears linking the MMR jab with autism.
Rodoulis said the two are not linked in any way.
“The misunderstanding stems from the fact that autism is usually diagnosed between 15 and 18 months of age – close to the age of vaccination,” he said. “It has been proven that there is no connection with the vaccine,” Rodoulis said.
Vaccinations in state facilities is free for all irrespective of nationality.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), measles is among the world’s most contagious diseases and one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide. Even healthy and well-nourished children, if unvaccinated, are at risk of the disease and its severe health complications such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, and (more rarely) encephalitis – a dangerous infection of the brain causing inflammation, WHO said.
