Measles outbreak in Mumbai, 3 kids dead: Centre deploys high-level team to manage outbreak

NEW DELHI: According to a PTI report, the Union Health Ministry Wednesday said it has deputed a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Mumbai to take stock of the upsurge of measles cases in the city.

An outbreak of measles, one of the most contagious viral diseases was reported among children from different parts of the city and suburbs and the most worrying aspect was the fact that out of the reported cases nearly 50 per cent of the kids were vaccinated.

Measles outbreak in various Mumbai’s slum pockets were a cause for alarm and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) started a vaccination drive in F/North, H/East, L, M/East and P/North wards in the city.

It has also directed doctors and clinics that all cases are to be immediately reported to the Ward Office in every area.

The BMC also appealed to parents to undertake measles and rubella vaccinations for their 9-month-old and 16-month-old children on a war footing.

Vaccination drives are conducted in Parel, Bandra East, Santacruz East, Kurla, Govandi, Chembur, and Malad West and Malwani areas by the BMC and other agencies due to the increased incidence of measles and rubella among children aged between zero to five years. One death of a child was reported due to measles in Govandi. Later reports said the two siblings of the dead child also succumbed to the viral disease.

The Central team will assist the state health authorities in instituting public health measures and facilitate operationalization of requisite control and containment measures, it said.

The three-member central team to Mumbai comprises experts drawn from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, and the Regional Office for Health and Family Welfare, Pune, Maharashtra.

The team is headed by Dr Anubhav Srivastava, Deputy Director, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), NCDC, the ministry.

The team will also undertake field visits to investigate the outbreak and assist the state health departments in terms of public health measures, management guidelines and protocols to manage the increasing cases of measles being reported in Mumbai, it added.

(With inputs from PTI)