10,416 confirmed cases of measles reported till December 12 in India: MoS Health Bharati Pravin Pawar

An upsurge in cases of measles has been reported during November 2022, Ms. Pawar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

Over 10,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of measles and 40 deaths due to it among children have been reported in India till December 12 this year, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Maharashtra has reported 3,075 cases and 13 deaths followed by Jharkhand with 2,683 cases and eight deaths.

An upsurge in cases of measles has been reported during November 2022, Ms. Pawar said in a written reply.

The number of confirmed cases stands at 10,416, she said.

Taking note of the upsurge of cases from certain districts and cities of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Gujarat, and Kerala, the Union Ministry of Health deployed multi-disciplinary central teams comprising public health specialists, paediatricians and microbiologists to assess the situation and provide technical support to the states, Ms. Pawar said.

The central teams deployed noted the need for further strengthening disease surveillance activities, ramping up immunisation with measles-containing vaccines, managing vaccine hesitancy through intensive community awareness to cover all unimmunised children, improving case management through timely detection, referral and clinical management of cases etc, she said.

The findings of the central teams along with their recommendations were also formally conveyed to these states to take necessary action to manage the upsurge of the cases in the community, Ms. Pawar said.