Why did the outbreak of measles take place?
There was no reported case of measles in the recent years, and according to MoPH the last case of measles was diagnosed in 1992. Currently we have over 90 per cent coverage under measles vaccination in DPRK. However, during the period of the humanitarian crisis in the 90s, the coverage declined to less than 50 per cent. In the current outbreak of measles the majority of cases amounting to 40 per cent of the total are in the age group of – 11 and 19 years and this is the group that missed out the immunization during their infancy. To prevent measles outbreaks countries need to include a second dose of measles in their immunization schedule. DPRK has only one dose of measles at 9 months of age in their schedule. WHO analysed samples of serum and confirmed measles outbreak, however the source of virus is not yet identified. Is measles not a common child-hood disease? Why is it so important to prevent measles? Measles reduces the body’s defense against other infections during a few weeks.
