India faces the challenge of a range of infectious diseases. While deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming increasingly prevalent, huge numbers of Indians continue to die annually due to infectious disease. This dual burden of disease has the potential to put a substantial amount of stress on an already underfunded and under resourced health […]
measles
How does India fare on the roadmap to elimination?
India has a prolonged history of setting ambitious elimination deadlines for a host of diseases, only to miss the deadline and simply re-announce another year. Many diseases, such as leprosy, are simply neglected with most individuals affected belonging to lower castes and viewed as outcasts from society — a view proliferative through thousands of years. […]
Measles deaths on the rise, as vaccinations fall
Measles vaccinations are falling. Measles deaths are rising. In 2019, measles deaths stood at 207,000 – a fifty percent rise since 2016. Infections with the highly-contagious virus, meanwhile, hit almost 870,000 – a figure last seen in the mid-1990s. These alarming figures were published in a study jointly released by the World Health Organization (WHO) […]
The measles vaccine and why it matters
When it comes to health issues, it is unsurprising the pandemic of COVID-19 dominates the conversation. Yet, as we appraise the gravity of COVID-19, it is important to remember that the world grapples with a plethora of public health concerns. Among them is measles – and it is deeply concerning that the line of defence […]
Intensified immunisation drive in Maharashtra to benefit almost 80,000 kids
Almost 80,000 children and more than 13,000 pregnant women will benefit from an intensified immunisation drive in Maharashtra. The news comes from the state on the heels of an announcement earlier this year that the Government of India was stepping up its immunisation efforts through Indradhanush 2: an enhanced version of the Government’s vaccination drive […]
WHO-SEARO pledge on measles and rubella
The recent meeting of World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Region nations saw a commitment issued to eliminate measles and rubella by 2023. The 72nd Session of the WHO Regional Office for Southeast Asia (WHO-SEARO), which took place in Delhi, saw member countries pledge to increase immunisation rates in order to boost herd immunity against the […]
Save the Children gives India its scorecard on child health
“Basic education links the children, whether of cities or the villages, to all that is best and lasting in us.” – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi This sentiment – that being the centric role played by children in their country’s future – has been laid bare in the latest report released by Save the Children in […]
India’s kids miss out on the measles vaccine
2.9 million Indian kids missed out on the first dose of their measles vaccinations in the last eight years, according to the United Nations. A report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reveals that more than twenty million children worldwide missed out on the all-important first dose of the measles vaccine in the past eight […]
Measles makes a comeback: Fake news to blame?
Measles is a preventable disease – so why have cases almost quadrupled in a year? The first three months of 2019 witnessed dramatic increases in rates of the disease in every region of the world, compared to the same period last year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 170 countries reported 112,163 cases of […]
Disease profile: Measles
Measles is a highly infectious viral disease. In India, it continues to be a leading cause of childhood mortality. Measles is spread through airborne droplets emitted through coughing and sneezing. The disease has no known treatments as of yet, but the use of a safe vaccine has enabled many countries to reduce incidence of the […]