Bulgaria’s Health Ministry instructs GPs to identify and vaccinate children not immunised against measles

Bulgaria’s Health Ministry has sent instructions to all regional health inspectorates to take steps to limit the spread of measles and prevent new cases, the ministry said on February 19.

Among the measures is an instruction to all GPs in the country to identify all individuals aged from 13 months to 18 years who have not been immunised against measles, or who have gaps in their immunisation programme, and vaccinate them immediately.

On February 20, a mobile clinic will be deployed in the Hristo Botev area of Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia, to vaccinate children who have not been immunised.

This decision was taken at a meeting at Sofia municipality, attended by the head of the regional health inspectorate, Dr Pancho Penchev, deputy mayor Doncho Barbalov and other senior officials, and followed reports of an increase in measles cases in the area, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry reiterated its call to parents who have not had their children vaccinated to do so immediately.

It said that the incubation period of measles is, on average, nine to 21 days, and the symptoms strongly resemble those of an acute viral infection. Complications in adult and young patients may be very severe and the mortality rate is one in 1000 cases.

On February 18, three new cases of measles were confirmed in the Blagoevgrad district, in all three cases, children who had not been vaccinated. Reports said that the number of confirmed measles cases had reached 27, all of people who had not been immunised.

(Photo: US Air Force)

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