Bangladeshi government launches measles-rubella vaccine

Bangladesh is going to introduce measles-rubella (MR) vaccine this month in its routine immunisation programme to prevent rubella infections that doctors say can cause ‘severe’ birth defects. The shot will be administered in children aged 9 months and girls aged 15 years, Dr Syed Abu Jafar Md. Musa, Director, Primary Healthcare, told bdnews24.com. In the last week of this month, he said, they would launch the vaccine in Dhaka division and within a month across Bangladesh. He said extensive vaccine campaigns and effective surveillance had brought down the number of measles cases in Bangladesh, but rubella cases soared. “We cannot put our finger on the reason, but its effect is devastating.” The Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) recorded 999 lab-confirmed rubella cases in the last six months while the number of measles was 766. Dr Musa said rubella was a mild disease in children, but ‘if they infect a pregnant woman in the first three months...