Description | India’s plan to eradicate measles, rubella

Story so far: As the new year dawned, an important goal for India also became clear. India had set a goal of eliminating measles and rubella (MR) by 2023, but missed the early 2020 deadline for a variety of reasons exacerbated by the disruption caused by the pandemic. The previous targets set in 2015 also fell short. It was in 2019 that India adopted the goal of eliminating measles and rubella by 2023, and was expected to fall short of the 2020 target.

Why is this goal important?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the measles virus is one of the most contagious human viruses in the world, killing more than 100,000 children worldwide each year, and rubella is a vaccine-preventable congenital virus. main cause of anomalies. Measles and rubella can be prevented with just two doses of safe and effective vaccines. In the last 20 years, according to WHO statistics, the measles vaccine is estimated to have averted more than 30 million deaths worldwide. In both diseases, the symptoms are a rash and fever. Whereas measles is highly lethal, rubella infection in pregnant women can affect the fetus and cause birth defects.

What Happened in 2022?

From October 2022, Measles epidemic in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, the authorities were worried. At least 15 children have died out of hundreds infected, according to media reports.

Dr. Jacob Jong, a prominent virologist who heads the India Expert Advisory Group to Eliminate MR, believes that China caught up with COVID-19 infections late last year because it had “escaped previous waves of infections.” I equate it with a similar phenomenon. “This is a similar phenomenon, as there were no epidemics during the winter of 2020 and 2021 (November to January, when measles cases usually spike),” he said. outbreak was like epidemiological compensation. However, experts argue that the outbreak will contribute to strengthening the population’s herd immunity, which, along with a strong vaccination program, will help achieve the necessary goals.

What has India done to reach its goals?

In a paper published on the CDC website, “Progress Towards Elimination of Measles and Rubella: India, 2005-2021,” Ratnesh Murugan et al. describes how the country reached its current state. Between 2010 and 2013, India conducted phased measles catch-up vaccinations for children aged 9 months to 10 years in 14 states, reaching approximately 119 million. children were vaccinated.

Mission Indra Dhanush was launched in 2014 to strengthen vaccination of the unvaccinated population. From 2017 to 2021, India has adopted the National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Measles and Rubella, initiating a nationwide Measles and Rubella Booster Immunization (SIA) catch-up campaign, as well as routine prevention. Introduced rubella-containing vaccine (RCV) into the immunization program. We also moved from outbreak-based surveillance to case-based acute fever and rash surveillance and more than doubled the number of laboratories in the Measles-Rubella Network.

Is the goal of eliminating MR achievable?

“Yes, I think so,” said Dr. Jacob John. “The main concern is the under-1 population. ), it will be possible.”

But the trick, he said, is to do it district by district. Give each district a target to achieve the required immunization coverage, and implement robust fever and rash surveillance programs, in addition to testing for MR. As recently demonstrated, he said a well-oiled machine could be in place and free from disease. But remember, if 5% misses the target, the country as a whole hasn’t failed, it actually did a great job. “If we continue to monitor progress, districts that are lagging behind in immunization implementation could be assisted with additional input,” he argued.

In the process, CS Rex Sargunam, a pediatrician and president of the Tamil Nadu Health Development Association, has been working with ground-level staff to implement the programme: village health nurses, ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists). workers, Anganwadi and ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) workers. “In fact, the only way to ensure the success of a target-driven approach is to ensure that the people given the task are happy with their work. It should not be put on hold for months.”

He said states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala will find it easier to reach their goals, while other states need additional efforts to work towards achieving them. said.

WHO has expressed hope that India can actually achieve its goals. “Increasing surveillance by finding, investigating, collecting and testing samples of all suspected cases in every state and district of Utah will help India reach its goal of eradicating MR.” He is the WHO representative for India, said Roderico H. Ofrin. Experts stressed the importance of thorough public health outreach. His Prabhdeep Kaur, deputy director of the National Institute of Epidemiology ICMR, said: