Measles outbreak leaves two dead in Mandera

Sunday October 21, 2018

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The Mandera County is grappling with a measles outbreak that has left two people; a child and an elderly woman dead.

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According to the county’s health department some 313 measures cases affecting both children under the age of five and adults have been reported since February when the disease was first detected.

The County Health Executive, Mohamud Mohamed revealed that the region is still battling the epidemic in parts of Banisa and Mandera West sub-counties.

“We have managed the situation in Mandera East, North, South and Lafey sub-counties through emergency immunisation, and the national government will support the fight in the remaining areas,” he said.

Mohamed blamed the low immunisation cover in Mandera on the nomadic nature of the local communities.

“Locals in Mandera are always on the move with their livestock at the expense of medical attention, but we are following them into interior grazing fields for immunisation,” said the official.

He added that the low response from the national government and insecurity in Mandera were also to blame for poor immunisation coverage.

The disease was first detected in areas bordering Somalia and Ethiopia before spreading into the interior parts. Through the Rapid Result Initiative, the county aims at containing the epidemic completely within the next two months.

The Head of the Disease Surveillance department in Mandera, Ibrahim Hussein said the highly contagious disease was first reported in Mandera East back in February.

“We recorded one death of a child in February in Mandera East and another of an elderly woman in Mandera North Sub-County, but enough intervention measures were set up then and we successfully managed the situation,” he said.

The symptoms of measles could include watery eyes, sneezing, dry cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis, inflamed eyes and sensitivity to light besides a fever that could range from mild to severe.

The reddish-brown rash appears around three to four days after initial symptoms and could last for over a week. It (rash) starts behind the ears and spreads over the head and neck. After a couple of days, it spreads to the rest of the body, including the legs.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 2.6 million people who have not had the vaccine die of measles every year.

“We have a team of experts from the Ministry of Health Nairobi camping in Mandera West assessing the situation before we can carry out mass vaccination,” said Hussein.

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