Dr Sama Julius, Head of Unit, Expanded Programme on Immunisation, North West Region, talks about the measles outbreak and measures taken to respond to the situation.
How serious is the measles outbreak in the North West Region?
There are isolated measles epidemics in more than 53 Health Districts all over the country. In the North West Region, 11 Health Districts are affected; namely Ndu, Nkambe and Nwa in Donga-Mantung, Ndop in Ngoketunjia, Kumbo East and Kumbo West in Bui, Bamenda in Mezam, Wum in Menchum, Batibo in Momo and Fundong in Boyo Divisions.
Recently, two deaths were recorded in Benakuma in Menchum Division. They have been established to be measles, while the causes of two other deaths are yet to be determined. So far, the situation is under control as some 4,438 children in the Benakuma zone have been vaccinated following a mini-campaign.
What do you think is responsible for the measles deaths in Benakuma?
We realised that when the children fell ill, their parents did not take them to the hospital due to local beliefs that when injection is given to children affected by measles, they will die. Moreover, the children were malnourished; consequently they died easily.
There were other two deaths recorded, but we are still to establish if the children died of measles. It should be noted routine vaccination is low in these areas despite the fact that government has offered everything concerning vaccination for free. Some parents are still hesitant to take their children for vaccination.
What else are the health authorities doing to remedy the situation?
We have embarked on a campaign to intensify sanitation and lure parents to bring their children during vaccination campaigns and to take their those below 11 months for routine vaccination. I equally wish to use this medium to call on parents to cooperate with different vaccination teams in order to vaccinate their children.
Once more, I wish to remind the public that everything concerning vaccination, ranging from the cards to syringes and the vaccine are free of charge. If every child gets vaccinated against measles, then in the nearest future, the disease will be eradicated from Cameroon.
