KARACHI, Oct 29: Paediatricians have underscored the need for compulsory vaccination of all children below 15 months against measles.

It would help protect children against the disease and also save them from falling prey to severe malabsorption, malnutrition and blindness.

Measles kills more children than any other EPI target disease. Its vaccine coverage rate has witnessed a colossal decline in the country against 90 per cent in 1990s to 78 per cent in late 1990s and 54 per cent in 2000s.

Dr. Ayesha Mehnaz of the Civil Hospital told APP on Wednesday that with winter about to set in, children are increasingly contracting viral infections, more particularly measles.

She stressed the need for steps to efficiently counter the frequent outbreak of the ailment.

According to her, instead of the current practice of single course of measles vaccines at the age of nine months, all children be administered first dose of it at the age of between six months to nine months and another at the age of one year or so.

It would be appropriate to mention that unlike other EPI vaccines, measles vaccine is not given in the first few months of life. It is the last vaccine to be given under the EPI schedule. As a result, drop-out rate for measles immunization is high and the vaccine has generally the lowest coverage of all the EPI vaccines for children.

The paediatrician mentioned that any child with a history of fever of 38 degrees centigrade or having cough, cold or upper respiratory infection or conjunctivitis, needs to be immediately referred to a medical practitioner.

According to WHO, 40 million cases of measles occur annually but only a small percentage of these — less than 5 per cent are reported.—APP