Ghana
Health Service (GHS) has launched the new Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccine
yesterday in the northern regional capital Tamale as part of a roadmap to
achieve the target of accelerated measles elimination in the country.
The
launch is also in line with achieving the Millennium Development Goal 4 by
2015.
The
new Measles-Rubella Vaccine is a combination of measles and rubella vaccine,
which will protect against the viruses of the two diseases. Speaking at the
national launch in Tamale under the theme; “Prevent Measles and Rubella with
one vaccine; Vaccinate now”, the National Programme Manager of the Expanded
Programme on Immunization, Dr Antwi Agyei, said although Ghana has been
carrying out vaccination against measles since 1978, studies had established
that Rubella was endemic in Ghana and that no specific intervention had been
put in place to address it.
Rubella,
also called German Measles is a generally trivial infectious disease that has
similar symptoms as measles. Like measles, Rubella can be transmitted from
person to person when droplets containing the rubella virus discharged from a
patient’s mouth or nose when he/she coughs or sneezes and are inhaled by
another person.
Dr.
Agyei noted that only a marginal cost will be added to measles elimination
campaign to address the Rubella and this had informed the decision to bring the
campaign forward to 2013 instead of 2014 and assured Ghanaians that the vaccine
was safe and effective.
It
has been noted that most outbreaks of measles occurred in the northern region.
In 2011, measles surveillance data by the Ghana Health Services showed that out
of 1,744 suspected cases that were reported 120 were confirmed positive.
By
2012 about 1,120 suspected cases were reported and 174 were also confirmed
positive.
The
Northern Regional minister, who gave the keynote address, expressed the hope
that the new vaccine will help save lives of children in the region.
He urged the public to join in the campaign to
end the spread of measles-rubella virus among children.
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