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NEWS: Roger Dobson Measles outbreak in Wales will get worse, officials have warned BMJ 2009; 338: b2317 [Full text]

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Measles outbreak in Wales will get worse, officials have warned

Perez A. Akello   (24 June 2009)

Measles outbreak in Wales will get worse, officials have warned 24 June 2009
Perez A. Akello, Registerd Nurse,Coordinator - Continous Professional Development Kialsumu District Hospit Send response to journal: Re: Measles outbreak in Wales will get worse, officials have warned	Dear Editor With regard to the article (BMJ2009; 338:b2317) “Measles Outbreak in Wales...” I wish to note that measles is one of the communicable diseases which is a major cause of child mortality in the developing countries. The measles immunization completion has been a challenge to the health society. It is interesting to note the rise in Wales, a developed country with a two times immunization procedure. A key factor observed is that most parents do not complete their immunization schedule. This seems to be one of the reasons in my country. The strengths observed in this article are the efforts by the health officials and Wales Assembly to put in place mechanisms like introducing DVD and leaflets to the affected communities. The other thing is the debate to have immunization completion requirement as an admission criteria, this sounds like a great idea. Our country has this plan in the pipeline. The weakness noted is that the parents should be prevented from taking their children to primary school, this will discourage them. I strongly feel that this can be turned into an opportunity. This can be done by confirming the children’s medical records on admission, by taking advantage to ensure that immunization is completed at this stage. This will enable all the children to complete their immunization hence reducing the risk on future attacks. My recommendation for completion challenge is to carry out outreaches by nurses or a team of health practitioners to sensitize the citizens on the situation at hand and how to go about it in prevention and cure. This has worked in my country. For instance, if an outbreak of a preventable disease is reported, usually a medical campaign is carried out and the fruits are rewarding. Regards, Perez Akello MCHD, RN -Kenya pakelloa@yahoo.com Competing interests: None declared