Awerial County of Lakes State registers 47 cases of measles in March

Lakes State authorities declared on Friday measles outbreak in Awerial County after recording 47 cases in three Payams in March.

Dr. Hakim Makuer Gol, Director General for Lakes State Ministry of Health said more cases could have gone unreported in the communities due to cultural beliefs.

 “There are currently 47 cases of measles recorded in Awerial County. These 47 were recorded in Bor State Hospital alone,” Makuer told The Juba Echo by Phone.

He said Bunagok, Alel and Abuyung Payams areas are badly hit by the contagious disease.

Makuer explained that the most affected payams in Awerial County were not fully covered during the recent measles vaccination in the State.

“They were not actually covered well during routine vaccination campaign and due to floods and small Lakes that can’t be crossed by the parents to bring their children to vaccination sites, it happened that majority of them are not vaccinated,” Makuer said.

He said most of these cases were recorded in Bor State Hospital in Jonglei State.

“They (Bor State Hospital) are managing the cases on their side and on our side we are actually managing few of them in our facility,” disclosed Makuer.

“As of now, they are stable, they are being managed and hopefully they will recover from this disease,” he added.

Makuer said the ministry of health plans to roll out measles campaign targeting children aged between 6 months to 14 years in the State.

Dr. Moses Gak Reech, Director of Bor State Hospital in Jonglei State said they are managing more than 47 cases at Bor State Hospital.

 “We don’t have any death case and most of the patients have been discharged and in good condition,” he said.

According to WHO, measles is a highly contagious disease caused by the measles virus and occurs as a seasonal disease in tropical zones during the dry season.

It is transmitted instantly through respiratory droplets when an infected person sneezes or coughs, but the nature of transmission to vaccinated persons has not been demonstrated.

Measles can cause serious complications including blindness, severe diarrhea, ear infection, and pneumonia among malnourished children and people with compromised immunity as well as pregnant women.