23rd January 2023 (7 Topics)
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India’s plan to eradicate measles, rubella
Context
India had set a target to eliminate measles and rubella (MR) by 2023, having missed the earlier deadline of 2020, seeing disruptions due to the pandemic.
About the Disease:
- Measles is a highly infectious condition.
- Scientists have identified 21 strains of the measles virus
- There is no specific treatment for measles
Symptoms:
- Runny nose
- Dry hacking cough
- Conjunctivitis, or swollen eyelids and inflamed eyes
- Watery eyes
- Photophobia, or sensitivity to light
- Sneezing
- A reddish-brown rash
- Koplik's spots or very small greyish-white spots with bluish-white centres in the mouth, insides of cheeks, and throat.
- Generalized body aches
Types:
There are two types of measles:
- Measles: This is the standard form caused by the rubeola virus.
- Rubella or German measles: This is caused by the rubella virus.
- Rubella generally presents as mild but presents more of a risk to unborn infants than young children if a woman contracts the virus while she is pregnant.
- It is neither as infectious nor as severe as standard measles.
- The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines contain immunizations for both types.
Spread of Measles and Rubella in India:
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Need for emergency action:
- The measles virus is one of the world’s most contagious human viruses that kill more than 1, 00,000 children every year globally, and rubella is a leading vaccine-preventable cause of birth defects.
- Both measles and rubella can be prevented by just two doses of a safe and effective vaccine.
- Over the past two decades, the measles vaccine is estimated to have averted more than 30 million deaths globally, as per the WHO’s statistics.
- While measles has a high fatality rate, rubella infection in a pregnant woman will have an impact on the foetus, resulting in birth defects.
India’s plan to eradicate MR diseases:
- During 2010–2013, India conducted a phased measles catch-up immunisation for children aged 9 months–10 years in 14 States, vaccinating approximately 119 million children.
- Mission Indradhanush was launched in 2014 to ramp up vaccinating the unvaccinated population.
- During 2017–2021, India adopted a national strategic plan for measles and rubella elimination, and introduced rubella-containing vaccine (RCV) into the routine immunisation programme, besides launching a nationwide measles-rubella supplementary immunisation activity (SIA) catch-up campaign.
- It also transitioned 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.
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