Experts call attention to measles risks
Print Edition
WITH March to May marking peak season for infectious disease outbreaks in the city, experts at the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning yesterday about the dangers posed by measles.
Pregnant women with low immunity, infants and adults who have not received the measles vaccine, and those with lapsed immunity are all at risk of contracting the virus, experts say.
Doctors from the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University said cases of children hospitalized with measles have already tripped from a year earlier.
Local experts say the recent rise in local measles cases matches a broader global trend. Climate and population movements in Shanghai were also identified as factors.
According to the World Health Organization, measles outbreaks are rising worldwide, with data from 2014 showing cases in the Asian Pacific and the Americas rising higher than other parts of the world.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne infection caused by the measles virus. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose and rash. Complications include diarrhea, blindness, inflammation of the brain and pneumonia, among others.
In China, vaccinations for measles became broadly available starting in 1965. Shanghai started to promote vaccination in the 1970s and 1980s.
“Measles vaccinations usually produce immunity for 10 to 12 years, so people can still be vulnerable to the virus after the immunity expires,” said Dr Dai Junlai, director of Shanghai Ren’ai Hospital’s dermatology department.
Children should receive vaccinations at the age of 8 months, 18 months and 4 years of age.
“The vaccination rate for children is 99 percent,” said Dr Li Zhi from Shanghai CDC. “Currently, children with measles are usually those too young to receive the shots and those not receiving vaccination due to their own diseases.”
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