"We have two cases of measles in the country. Both children are from the same family, one of them was not vaccinated, the other did not have a full vaccination course. The children are provided with all the necessary medical assistance, and those who came into contact with them (all contacts were previously vaccinated) underwent a PCR test to detect measles (the results were negative). All are under medical observation," the Ministry of Health of Ukraine reports.
What is measles and how does this disease manifest itself?
Measles is a contagious viral disease that is transmitted by airborne droplets. The incubation period is 6-21 days, after which symptoms such as high fever, headache, cough, eye inflammation, diarrhea and vomiting begin to appear. On the 4-5th day, a red rash appears on the skin, which spreads over the whole body. Measles can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia, otitis media, encephalitis, disability and death.
Measles is one of the main causes of child mortality in the world
Every year, more than 30-40 million children fall ill with measles, and more than 800 thousand die from the infection itself and its complications
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There is no medicine against measles. The only protection is vaccination.
Vaccination has helped reduce the incidence of measles by a factor of ten, and according to UNICEF, deaths from measles decreased by 79% from 2000 to 2016, saving 20.3 million children's lives worldwide. However, countries with insufficient vaccination coverage, including Ukraine, remain problematic.
How to get vaccinated against measles?
Two doses of the PDA vaccine protect against measles. In accordance with the National Calendar of Preventive Vaccinations, children in Ukraine are vaccinated against measles once a year, and at the age of 6 they undergo a scheduled revaccination. In addition, if your child is over 6 months old, if there are epidemic indications, you can administer a zero dose of the vaccine, which is not counted as the first dose of vaccination.
The vaccine against measles is included in the combined three-component vaccine of the PDA (for the prevention of measles, epidemic parotitis, rubella).
A high level of coverage of the population by vaccination forms the so-called collective immunity. Measles does not spread where vaccination coverage is not lower than 98%.
The Ministry of Health calls on parents to take care of the protection of their children. There is a vaccine in Ukraine, it can be obtained free of charge from a pediatrician or family doctor.
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