Measles outbreak in Mumbai: BMC races to vaccinate kids in Govandi, Deonar

A special vaccination camp organised at Dharavi on Sunday

To overcome the hurdle of vaccine hesitancy, the BMC has stepped up counselling parents in the M East ward that is under the grip of measles outbreaks. Over the past few days, officials said, health workers have visited 2.47 lakh homes and counselled nearly 12.65 lakh people. This apart, the civic body's health staff are also screening children for measles symptoms like fever and rashes.

More than 300 workers have fanned out across Govandi and Deonar, which are dotted with slum pockets, for the job.

The measles outbreak in M East ward came to the fore after mid-day reported the death of three children within 48 hours at Rafi Nagar, Govandi, apparently due to malnutrition. Suspecting the deaths to be the fallout of measles, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials shared more details about outbreaks of the viral disease across the city. A Central team also visited the area and pointed to vaccine hesitancy as one of the major concerns.

Also read: Measles outbreak: Mumbai records eight new cases

A senior official from BMC's health department said, "For the past two weeks, BMC staffers, Asha workers and NGOs are doing a door-to-door campaign for vaccination and screening of children. During the visit, our health workers also counselled the families about the importance of vaccination, cleanliness, and a nutritious diet for kids. They also explained to them to identify the symptoms of measles. They said that rather than going for home remedies, one should approach a doctor without wasting time."

The efforts have started showing results. So far, more than 1,900 children have been vaccinated to protect them against various diseases. This vaccination includes those kids who were partially vaccinated and also those who had not taken even a single dose.

"Private doctors are also reporting suspected cases. Because of the counselling, parents who were refusing vaccination for their kids are now coming forward. The refusal has gone down," said the civic official.

Camp in Dharavi as well

Along the lines of Govandi, BMC held a special camp for measles vaccine at Masjid Galli in Dharavi on Sunday. Prashant Sapkale, assistant commissioner of G North ward, said since the outbreak of measles was declared in October, all kinds of preventive measures have been expedited. He said that in a door-to-door survey conducted in the ward on November 14, 868 children were found eligible for the measles vaccine.

Sapkale said they would cover the entire population in the next 10 days. For this, 50 more vaccination camps will be organised to ensure that no child between the age of 9 months and 5 years is left out of vaccination. A total of 23 vaccination sessions were organised in the entire ward, which also covers Dadar, on Sunday. Apart from this, 450 local private doctors have been requested to report suspected cases to the BMC immediately.

2.47l
No. of homes covered by the counsellors