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27/05/2022 - Health

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May 27, 2022

Give an account on measures taken and challenges faced in measles-rubella elimination. (200 words)

Refer – The Hindu

Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.

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IAS Parliament 3 years

KEY POINTS

Measures taken

·        The Government decided to eliminate measles and rubella from India by 2015 and later on by 2020.

·        The two arms of intervention are vaccination and surveillance.

·        So, in 2017 efforts were made to create a very high level of vaccination-induced immunity against both diseases, by inoculating MR vaccine.

·        Due to high registration and attendance a school-based vaccination programme was taken up.

·        The ideal population-cum-administrative unit for efficiently implementing all activities towards MR elimination is the district.

·        Every district has excellent infrastructure to manage the UIP. Task Force mechanism overseeing the UIP that is managed by the District Immunisation Officer.

·        With this approach the whole country will reaches the finishing line when all 773 districts achieve success.

·        Two doses of the MR vaccine covering at least 95% children below five years — the first dose between nine and 11 months and second dose ideally in the second year of life — will suffice. To cover immunity gaps after one dose of measles vaccine, a second dose was necessary.

·        For epidemiological reasons rubella vaccination had to cover children up to 15 years.

Challenges faced -

·        Due to a lack of information given to the public there was much anxiety —and even antipathy towards — in many places, about the programme, in the minds of parents and school authorities.

·        The COVID-19 pandemic stole two years from the programme. So the MR elimination target was re-set to 2023.

·        Clinical and laboratory surveillance and vaccination have to be sustained, as either virus, especially measles virus, could be imported from outside; that should be immediately detected and interrupted.

·        The rubella virus is a slower transmitter and the risk of rubella is extended from childhood through adolescence into the reproductive age range. In most individuals, rubella infection is either without symptoms.

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