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Measles in India, a neglected problem

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  • Symposium: Infections Disease
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Abstract

It is extimated that about 21 million preschool children acquire measles virus infection and 16 million develop clinical measles, annually, in India. Casefatality rate vary from 1 to 16 percent, depending upon the availability of health care and the nutritional status. Nearly 10 percent of preschool mortality is caused by measles. It is estimated that 200,000 children die annually in India due to measles or its complications. Measles vaccine is effective and safe, and is urgently needed in India. There is no justification for not including measles immunisation in the Expanded Programme on Immunisation in India. Measles vaccine should be made available, free of cost, to every child, as a first step towards its control.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Virology, Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, Tamil Nadu

    T. Jacob John M.D. (Professor and Head)

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  1. T. Jacob John M.D.
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John, T.J. Measles in India, a neglected problem. Indian J Pediatr 50, 399–403 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02753381

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