Last week the government blamed the rise in infections on schismatic Apostolic Church groups, explaining that most of the patients are unvaccinated.
Zimbabwe’s measles outbreak has killed 157 children so far and the death toll has almost doubled in less than a week, the country’s information minister said today.
Last week the government blamed the rise in infections on schismatic Apostolic Church groups, explaining that most of the patients are unvaccinated.
The total number of suspected cases rose from 1,036 to 2,056 in four days, Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said, speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting. Most patients are children aged 6 months to 15 years and come from religious groups that do not believe in vaccination.
“It was observed that most of the cases were not vaccinated against measles,” he noted. The health ministry will intensify the vaccination program ahead of the new school year starting in September while the government is appealing to local elders and traditional healers for their support, he added.
The measles outbreak is another problem for Zimbabwe’s health sector, which has for years been dealing with drug shortages and strikes by health workers.
RES-EMP
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