VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Health on October 4 launched the national measles supplementary vaccination campaign, which targets 7.5 million children aged one through five, in Da Nang city.

Support by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the campaign aims to ensure that by 2012 Vietnam will eliminate measles across the country.

“For this campaign to be successful, no child should be missed. A missed child is an unprotected one who can infect others and perpetuate the chain of measles transmission. We should also remember that for these efforts to be successful, routine measles immunization coverage, with two doses of vaccine, should reach at least 95 per cent of the target population, and measles surveillance has to be fully operational with prompt laboratory investigations,” stressed Jean-Marc Olivé, WHO Representative in Viet Nam.

The Government conducted the largest ever nationwide measles campaigns in 2002 and 2003 targeting all children up to 10 years of age. In selected mountainous districts, additional small-scale vaccinations campaigns were conducted in 2004 and 2007-2008 targeting the older age group of youth up to 20 years of age. These campaigns contributed to reducing the incidence of measles dramatically in Vietnam.

However, in early 2009, the country experienced significant measles outbreaks -beginning with university students in the north just before the Tet holidays.

Measles then spread all over the country, and this transmission has continued until now. To date nearly 30,000 suspected cases have been reported and nearly 10,000 have been confirmed through laboratory testing.

Vietnam’s 2010 measles campaign started in mid-September and will continue until 30 November this year in all 63 provinces (690 districts and 11,074 communes) of the country. A series of activities have supported the preparation and implementation of the campaign, including training for health workers and distribution of communication material nationally.

Support provided by UNICEF, WHO and the UN Foundation includes the procurement of 8.1 million doses of measles vaccine, training of health workers, production of communication material and support to mobile teams operating in hard-to-reach areas.

Globally, after many years of implementation of measles vaccination, the number of deaths due to measles fell by 78 per cent between 2000 and 2008. However, global immunization experts warn of a resurgence in measles deaths if vaccination efforts are not sustained. Measles is still one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide. Aiming at measles control and elimination, therefore, is essential for many regions and countries in the world, including Vietnam.

The measles vaccine used in this campaign is manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur and meets quality standards of the WHO.

TA