Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Dr. Salah Badr Abdelmane, Director of the Epidemiological Surveillance Department in Al-Mahrah Governorate, reported on Saturday that 168 suspected cases of measles and rubella have been recorded since the beginning of this year through the 16th epidemiological week, including one death.
Abdelmane stated that “the deceased case was recorded in Al-Ghaydah district, while the majority of infections are concentrated among children under the age of five.”
He explained that “the epidemiological situation in the governorate remains unstable, with cases being recorded daily,” noting that 60 samples were sent to the central laboratory in Mukalla for testing and verification.
He added that “the number of laboratory-confirmed cases reached 24, distributed across the districts of Al-Ghaydah, Sayhut, Al-Masila, Huswain, and Qishn,” pointing out that another 33 cases are epidemiologically linked to confirmed cases.
He indicated that “Al-Ghaydah district recorded the highest percentage of confirmed cases,” adding that “69 remaining samples will be sent as soon as the necessary reagents are available at the central laboratory.”
Abdelmane noted that “79 percent of the detected cases belong to unvaccinated children,” emphasizing that “children under the age of five are the most affected group.”
He attributed the spread of the disease to “weak demand for vaccination and failure to complete immunization doses, in addition to some families refusing vaccines due to misconceptions, as well as the influx of displaced persons and the presence of mobile societal groups that are difficult to reach.”
He called for “the implementation of an emergency national immunization campaign, the opening of a specialized center for treating fevers, and the activation of triage rooms in health facilities,” stressing the “importance of strengthening routine immunization programs and adopting an electronic system to remind parents of vaccination dates.”
The health official also urged for “intensifying health awareness, organizing training courses for medical staff, and providing an integrated central laboratory to speed up testing and response processes,” calling on citizens to “rush to immunize their children to limit the spread of the disease.”
