Measles-Rubella immunisation campaign launched in Takoradi

Ghana Health Service (GHS) on Thursday launched the Measles-Rubella Immunisation campaign in the Western Region targeted at children from nine months to 14 years.

Mr Peter Ofori Tweneboah, Regional Coordinator for the campaign told a news briefing in Takoradi that 1.1 million children are expected to be vaccinated in the area from September 11- September 20.

The theme for the 10-day immunisation campaign is: “Prevent measles and rubella with one vaccine; vaccinate now," which would be conducted simultaneously throughout the country.

He said the vaccines are safe and effective, since it had been tested and approved by the World Health Organisation and Food and Drugs Authority.

Mr Tweneboah said immunisation posts would be set up in all communities, schools, markets, health centres and hospitals to vaccinate children and asked the public to report any adverse reaction to the nearest health facility for assistance.

He said measles and rubella virus is transmitted from one person to another when droplets containing the disease are discharged from a patient’s mouth or nose when he or she coughs or sneezes, and inhaled by another person.

The virus could be transmitted through mother-to-child transmission, especially during pregnancy.

Mr Tweneboah said some common symptoms of measles-rubella infections are fever, skin rash, runny nose, cough and red eye, which could develop complications such as diarrhoea, brain damage, pneumonia, blindness, deafness, eye infection, or even death among infected persons.

He noted that the introduction of immunisation against childhood killer diseases including measles had improved the health of children.

“For the past 10 years, no child has died from measles in the country while the number of children that get the disease has also reduced drastically,” he stressed.

He said the country had established a four-year measles supplementary immunisation campaign since 2002 and consistently achieved high measles coverage of 85 per cent over the years.

Mr Tweneboah said an estimated 112,000 babies are born around the world with congenital rubella syndrome.