Jan 29, 2007

Measles Mortality Declines 60 Percent in Six Years

by Laura Starita

Measles is a killer. While it’s perceived as an easily preventable nuisance in the West, it still kills hundreds of thousands each year in the rest of the world. In these locales, where vaccinations and access to doctors are rare, fatality rates can reach 10 percent of those infected, largely as a result of measles interacting with other health problems (malnutrition, AIDS, opportunistic bacterial infections).

Measles is losing its killer status however. The World Health Organization announced last week its Measles Initiative has been successful at decreasing worldwide measles deaths by 60 percent since it began in 1999. The Initiative’s strategy was to prevent initial infection through immunization campaigns and to improve surveillance and treatment.

The Measles Initiative has done a lot of things right. Most importantly, it is tracking and reporting results. Beyond that, it employs a variety of best practices, pairing prevention with treatment, using the patient contact to bolster other community health initiatives such as bed nets to combat malaria, de-worming medication and vitamin supplements. The challenge now is in sustainment and expansion. Too many such success stories turn into failures through lack of long-term support and follow through.

WHO: Global Goal to Reduce Measles Death in Children Surpassed