By Angela Atabo
Save the Children International (SCI), has called for urgent intervention to tackle measles in Burkina Faso that has already affected more than 2000 children .
Save the Children Country Director in Burkina Faso, Benoit Delsarte, in a statement on Thursday said that there was need to stop the disease for the well-being of children, their parents and communities.
According to SCI, the children are suspected to have contracted measles in the past four months as a deadly outbreak spreads across the country,
“Since the outbreak started last November, the country has recorded more than 2,000 suspected measles cases nearly the same amount as for all of 2023 ,including seven deaths.
“Children aged between one and 15 account for 96 per cent of cases, according to the country’s public health institute.
“The outbreak shows no signs of abating, with about 1,700 cases recorded in February alone, and cases continuing to rise every week. The capital Centre region has been the most affected, with about 37% of reported cases.
“Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases, which, if untreated, can cause blindness, pneumonia, and death. In typical cases, symptoms include a high fever, cough, and a rash. In pregnant women, contracting measles raises the risk of miscarriage and premature birth. ”
Delsarte said that Burkina Faso is prone to measles outbreaks, with the country reporting 2,190 measles cases in 2023, 252 cases in 2022, 3,866 cases in 2021, and 2,480 cases in 2020.
SCI therefore, called for the continued mobilisation of healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, to provide crucial support in districts affected by the outbreak, as well as awareness in other regions on the prevention of the epidemic.
SCI also commended the prevention and care measures taken by the government and its partners so far and called for greater mobilisation to provide crucial support to the districts affected by the epidemic and to strengthen the vaccination programme already underway.
(NAN)
