The Morocco faces a resurgence as worrying as it is unexpected measlesthe disease having been historically controlled thanks to vaccination coverage greater than 95%.
To date, there have been 120 deaths and some 25,000 reported cases. The figures, it must be admitted, send shivers down your spine. Questioned by “Le Matin”, Dr Said Afifpresident of the Moroccan Society of Pediatricsattributes this resurgence in part to the disruptions caused by Covid-19 pandemic. “The lockdowns have disrupted the schedules of vaccinationpreventing many children from receiving their doses on time,” he explains. And he added that what made the situation worse was that after the crisis, many families did not take the necessary measures to catch up, leading to a vaccination coverage insufficient and therefore facilitating the spread of the disease.
Measles: a serious illness, a vaccination emergency
Contrary to popular belief, measles is not a infection benign. “It is a disease that causes distressing symptoms, such as feverthe coughl’eye irritation and therash. It can also lead to serious complications, such as pneumoniaof the encephalitiseven the mort», warns Dr Afif. The latter also emphasizes that the disease is extremely contagious: an infected person can transmit the virus to up to 18 other individuals, hence the importance and urgency of vaccination. He therefore calls on parents to check the health records of their children to ensure that they have received the two necessary doses: the first at 9 months and the second at 18 months. For those whose children are not vaccinated, he strongly recommends that they participate in the vaccination campaign launched by the Ministry of Health. “Unvaccinated children will receive two doses one month apart, while those who have already received the first dose will benefit from a second to strengthen their protection,” he specifies. Dr Afif also emphasizes the importance of vaccinating anyone who has been in contact with a confirmed case within 72 hours, in order to limit the risk of contamination.
-Fake news: an obstacle to the fight against measles
Dr Afif also wishes to emphasize that “the measles vaccine is safe, effective and well tolerated”, thus brushing aside the false information circulating on social networks. Therefore, he calls on families to be wary of fake newswhich, in the era of everything connected, sometimes spread more quickly than the virus itself. “These rumors without scientific basis prevent families from protecting their children and compromise the health system’s efforts to stop the disease,” he worries.
In this context, the doctor insists on collective mobilization. “The fight against the measles epidemic can only be carried out through coordinated action and general mobilization: health authorities, health professionals, families and citizens,” he underlines. THE doctor also welcomes the work accomplished by public and private schools, which have already started to actively raise awareness among parents and check children’s vaccination records. “These initiatives are crucial for better control of the situation and should be generalized,” he adds.
