NOVI PAZAR POTENTIAL FOCUS OF MEASLES: There are a lot of unvaccinated children

63 cases of smallpox have been registered in SERBIA since the beginning of the year. The most infected people are in Belgrade (44), and 12 children under the age of six are among the sick. Apart from Belgrade, measles also appeared in Novi Sad, Bor, Niš, Vranje, Valjevo, and Mionica.

PHOTO: EPA

The doctors are especially concerned that the infection was registered a few days ago in Novi Pazar as well. Measles was confirmed in an unvaccinated child, aged 16 months. The concern is justified if it is taken into account that in Novi Pazar, only 27.9 percent of children were vaccinated with the MMR vaccine, which protects against this infectious disease.

For a good collective immunity, which does not allow the virus to spread, it is necessary that the coverage of vaccinated children is greater than 95 percent. Epidemiologists say that in recent years the coverage of children vaccinated with MMR has been low, and that a large “reservoir” of susceptible people has been created. This means that a fire can break out that can hardly be stopped, because it is a virus that spreads quickly and easily.

Doctors remind that the best protection is vaccination, that smallpox is not a harmless disease, that complications occur in the form of pneumonia, inflammation of the meninges, and even death.

Serbia paid a high price in 2017/2018. when the smallpox epidemic broke out. At that time, 5,800 people were infected, and 15 people died. Among the deceased were four children under the age of five. In that epidemic, Novi Pazar was one of the hotspots of the epidemic. In a period of six months, about 500 people were infected, and as many as 70 percent were hospitalized.

Spahić: We are concerned that there are few vaccinated children

Director of the Institute for Public Health in Novi Pazar, Dr. Šefadil Spahić, says that they are concerned that the first case of smallpox was registered in Novi Pazar, because it is a virus that spreads quickly, and there are a large number of unvaccinated children in that city.

– We are concerned about the low level of vaccinated children. We know that measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause numerous complications. That’s why we once again appeal to parents to vaccinate their children and thus protect them. Those who show the first signs of the disease should be isolated and taken to the doctor, Spahić said.

He stated that now is the moment for parents to “wake up” and protect their children from infection. As he says, there is already a slight increase in the number of children vaccinated with the first dose of MMR. However, all this is insufficient, because a large number of unvaccinated persons has accumulated.

The MMR vaccine (protects against three infectious diseases – smallpox, mumps, rubella) is given in two doses – the first in the second year of life, and the second dose before starting school.

Although doctors say that the MMR vaccine is safe, many parents are more likely to believe lay people who spread unverified information on social media and link the MMR vaccine to autism.

Novi Pazar is a potential hotspot

Dr. Dragoslav Popović, an immunization adviser, tells Juronjuz Serbia that Novi Pazar, with its small coverage of vaccinated children, is a new potential focus of the epidemic.

“Every place where coverage of vaccinated children is at such a low level, and there is virus circulation in the country, is a potential hotspot. This should be a strong signal to parents to vaccinate their children,” says Popović.

Doctors say that measles should not be equated with chicken pox, which usually pass without complications. Parents forget that smallpox is a dangerous disease that carries numerous risks for the child who gets infected.

– It has been proven that smallpox is a viral disease that is transmitted the fastest in a population that is not protected. The disease itself is like Russian roulette. We never know which way it might go. I have to remind you that during the last epidemic we had 15 deaths. These are patients who died despite having the best possible hospital care in the acute phase of the disease, said Popović.

He reminds that smallpox leads to numerous complications from pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, to death. Popović points out that the measles virus generally affects the child’s immune system.

– The smallpox virus largely erases all the previous immunity that the child acquired by suffering the disease or acquired immunity by vaccination. So it puts you in a situation where you’re again extremely susceptible to any other viral or bacterial infection that you thought you were protected against, he said.

In Novi Pazar, there is now a spark that can cause a huge fire, because smallpox is a viral disease that spreads very quickly. The smallpox epidemic is also raging in neighboring countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania.

(Euronews Serbia)

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