Since October 2023, Morocco has deplored 107 deaths linked to complications of measles, particularly affecting children, revealed Amine Tahraoui, Minister of Health and Social Protection.
Speaking during the weekly oral questions session in the House of Representatives, the minister said that Morocco has recorded, since October 2023, 107 deaths attributable to measles complications, equivalent to a mortality rate of 0.55%. More than half of these tragic losses concern children under the age of 12. In addition, he specified that the total number of cases recorded nationally stood at 19,515 during the same period, reflecting an incidence of 52.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Tahraoui described the current epidemiological situation of this disease as “critical”, highlighting that the decline in vaccination rates during and after the Covid-19 pandemic has favored the emergence of worrying epidemic outbreaks.
Faced with this challenge, the ministry has developed a comprehensive strategic plan aimed at stemming the spread and preventing infection, in particular by intensifying routine vaccination to achieve vaccination coverage greater than 95% with two doses of measles vaccine, he assured.
According to the minister, this plan includes the organization of catch-up campaigns aimed at children who have not received the necessary doses, particularly targeting those born between 2020 and 2023. It also provides for the development of a more precise epidemiological surveillance system. and comprehensive in order to promptly detect cases and intervene early.
To strengthen these efforts, the ministry also decided to mobilize the National Center for Public Health Emergency Operations (CNOUSP) as well as 12 regional health emergency centers. The manager notably announced the launch of a vast national campaign, orchestrated in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports, as well as the Ministry of the Interior, with a view to evaluating the vaccination status children under the age of 18 from October 28, 2024, an operation which will be extended by four additional weeks.
As of December 20, 2024, this intensive campaign made it possible to check the vaccination status of around 6 million children, recording a verification rate of 54.7%, while administering 138,000 doses of vaccines against measles and rubella, with a catch-up rate of 38%.
Although these efforts are significant, Tahraoui stressed that the fight against the disease remains hampered by several major challenges. Among these are the proliferation of erroneous information, particularly on social networks, the under-reporting of cases in certain remote areas, and immune deficiencies linked to the accumulation of unvaccinated children.
In this sense, the minister highlighted that measles has redefined itself as a global issue in recent years, especially due to the decrease in vaccination rates. This decline threatens the only real solution to eradicate this infectious and potentially fatal disease.
He clarified that measles, as an extremely contagious viral disease, can cause serious complications and even death, with each infected person being able to contaminate between 18 and 20 individuals around them.
Furthermore, Tahraoui revealed that the measles epidemic in Morocco emerged at the end of 2023 in the Souss-Massa region, gradually spreading towards Marrakech-Safi and beyond. This progression is attributed to a decline in post-Covid-19 vaccination coverage.
Vaccination remains, according to him, the only defense against this epidemic. Extensive campaigns carried out in recent decades almost eradicated measles in Morocco before the pandemic. The minister therefore urged parents, civil society, local authorities and parliamentarians to support the efforts of the Ministry of Health and its partners to conduct and stabilize family vaccination campaigns.
