Four hundred and forty-nine (449) cases of measles have been confirmed in 33 health districts of the country in 2024, Abdoulaye Mangane, doctor at the Prevention Directorate of the Ministry of Health and Social Action, announced on Monday.
“We have identified 449 confirmed cases of measles. Thirty-three health districts, out of the 79 in the country, have exceeded the epidemic threshold. This represents 41% of the districts,” said Dr Abdoulaye Mangane during an information day organized as a prelude to the national vaccination campaign against measles and rubella.
“This vaccination campaign is launched due to the evolution of the epidemiological situation, which shows that over the last four years, several districts of Senegal have been affected by measles epidemics,” added the Director of Prevention.
Health authorities have announced that a measles vaccination campaign will begin on December 2. The district of Yeumbeul, located in the suburbs of Dakar, was chosen for the launch of this campaign. They also call for “strengthening awareness by combining different communication strategies, such as television, radio and print media; provide reliable information to counter rumors; manage cases of refusal and reluctance, and intensify information to skeptical groups.”
Around 7,326,586 children are targeted by this vaccination campaign, with 8 million doses of vaccine made available to cover this population.
It should be remembered that measles is an infectious and contagious disease, often fatal, and can cause serious complications, including blindness, said Dr. Ndiaye.
“If we do not carry out a large-scale vaccination campaign against measles this year, or next year at the latest, we risk facing a major epidemic in the country,” warned the director of prevention, specifying that 60% of the districts affected by the disease have already exceeded the epidemic threshold.
The objective of this campaign, according to El Hadj Mamadou Ndiaye, is to ensure that measles no longer becomes a major public health problem in the country.
