War-torn Ukraine faces risk of new measles outbreak, warn health experts

Health experts have expressed concerns that a new measles outbreak could occur in Ukraine if hundreds of thousands of unvaccinated children return to schools in September, a report by Euronews on Thursday (July 20) said. Ukraine has been a measles hotspot in the past, and vaccine scepticism and supply interruptions led to a large outbreak in 2019.

As per the health ministry, only 74 per cent of children aged 1 and 69 per cent of children aged 6 received their first and second measles vaccination in 2022. Children who are unvaccinated between the ages of 2-17 will be headed towards classrooms where the risk of contagion is much higher.

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Around 260,000 kids need to be vaccinated: Minister

Earlier this week, Ukraine's Deputy Health Minister Ihor Kuzin said that the ministry and the centres for immunisation constantly monitor the contagion risks, and the highest risk right now is a measles outbreak.

“The first measles explosion in Ukraine happened over the 2017-2019 period and was a massive outbreak that the government was trying to mitigate. Around 115,000 children contracted the disease at the time,” Kuzin said.

He added that around 260,000 children need to be vaccinated, and until that is done, the country is facing the risk of a massive outbreak. “So until 1 September, when school starts, these children need to get vaccinated,” the deputy health minister further said and urged people to get vaccinated in the next month and a half.

Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that Ukraine had become more vulnerable to contagious diseases following the launch of the special military operation by Russia in February 2022.

Vusala Allahverdiyeva, an expert on Disease Prevention And Immunisation at the WHO, said, "When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, we realised that the biggest health risks in the country were diphtheria and measles outbreaks."

UNICEF delivers 657,000 vaccine doses to Ukraine

Nearly a week back, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) delivered another 657,000 doses of the combination measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) to Ukraine.

Muhammad Tariq Iqbal, a Ukraine Immunisation Specialist at UNICEF, said on July 17,"If your child missed the routine calendar shots, you need to catch up. UNICEF has delivered these vaccines to Ukraine."

Two doses of the MMR vaccine, given at 12 months and six years old, provide effective protection against measles.

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