India’s attempts to control measles have failed, public health experts told a national round table consultation last week, with the estimated number of annual deaths from the infection stubbornly high at about 130 000.

The report from the three day consultation, to be submitted to the Indian health ministry, has attributed the failure to inadequate immunisation, poor surveillance, and lack of basic health services in several states.

The health ministry’s own figures indicate that the number of cases of suspected measles each year over the past decade has ranged from 35 000 to 60 000, down from 40 000 to 90 000 in 1990-8. However, it is generally conceded that the ministry’s numbers do not reflect the true picture.

“India’s disease surveillance system is able to pick up …