Maharashtra is facing a measles outbreak with the capital city Mumbai being the worst affected. Mumbai on Wednesday recorded 15 new measles cases and zero fatalities, according to civic officials. A Total of 323 cases were recorded in Maharashtra’s capital since the start of the year. The case tally in the state so far this year rose to 724.
All 15 fatalities have been reported in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region — 11 in Mumbai, three in Bhiwandi and one in Vasai-Virar due to measles. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, it plans to start an ‘Outbreak Response Immunisation’ campaign from December 1.
The viral infection, which mostly affects children, has been on a steady rise in Maharashtra with the infection slowly spreading to different parts of the state. State surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate told TOI, “There are new hotspots in Pune, Nanded, Auranagabad, Buldhana now.” According to a government press release, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is regularly reviewing the situation.
Several states have also reported an uptick in measles cases. Amid the upsurge across several states, the Centre on Wednesday told all states to administer one additional dose of measles and rubella control vaccine (MRCV) to all children, aged between 9 months to 5 years, in vulnerable areas, per IANS.
“Recently, increased numbers of measles cases are being reported from certain districts of Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, and Maharashtra. A rapid rise in number of cases and some mortality due to measles has also been observed specifically in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and certain other districts of Maharashtra,” Joint Secretary, Health, Dr P. Ashok Babu, said in the letter.
The Centre has also advised states to earmark wards and beds for effective caseload management of measles in dedicated health facilities for timely transfer and treatment of such children.
(With inputs from agencies)
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