DAKAR (AlertNet) - Sixteen countries in West and Central Africa are in the throes of a measles outbreak, at a time when there is a shortfall in funding for vaccination campaigns against the disease, two U.N. agencies said in a joint statement on Thursday.
A massive drive African governments and international partners have cut the prevalence of measles by 92 percent in Africa. But infection rates are on the rise again in West and Central Africa because many countries in the region have immunised only about 80 percent of their populations through routine vaccinations, compared to a recommended rate of 95 percent.
"Such a figure means they can expect to have large sustained outbreaks every three to four years," Luis Gomes Sambo, World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa.
Failure to vaccinate every child had created a pool of "susceptible victims which builds up a perfect breeding ground for measles outbreaks," Gianfranco Rotigliano, director for West and Central Africa at the United Nation's Childrens Fund (UNICEF) added.
Unreached children are usually among the most vulnerable communities, the poorest and those who lack access to health care especially in areas close to urban areas and in rural zones that are only reached through outreach services.
The U.N. agencies said an additional $59 million was needed worldwide and $16 million in Africa to run effective vaccination campaigns against measles, one of the leading causes of death among children in the world.
"The funding gap must be met so that countries can continue to undertake large-scale campaigns to prevent child deaths and sustain the gains,Â? said Gomes Sambo.
POTENTIALLY DEADLY
Measles, spread through coughing or sneezing, is among the worldÂ?s most contagious diseases. Experts say in vulnerable populations such as in West and Central Africa, where malnutrition is widespread, measles can become deadly.
A major outbreak in Burkina Faso last year resulted in more than 50,000 cases and 340 deaths, and localised outbreaks in Benin, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Senegal accounted for 16,808 reported cases and 68 deaths.
The current measles outbreak may be difficult to contain in some countries, including Sierra Leone and Mauritania where half of the reported cases are adolescents and adults who are not among the 9 to 60 months age group that is usually the target of immunisation campaigns in the region, UNICEF said.
Â?It is quite different from a normal measles outbreak and it is a serious situation we are facing,Â? Lianne Kuppens, Chief of Child Survival and Development at UNICEF in Sierra Leone told AlertNet from Freetown.
Â?The local health authorities and international partners are looking at how to deal with these cases which are not within target groups in a context where there are little resources for wider vaccination campaigns,Â? she added.
There are immunisation campaigns underway in most countries to respond to the outbreak. Funding permitting, there will be follow-up vaccinations this year in Congo, Central African Republic, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali.
Between 2000 and 2008, global measles mortality in all ages was reduced by 78 percent from an estimated 733,000 deaths in 2000 to an estimated 164,000 deaths in 2008, according to the Measles Initiative, a partnership funded in 2001 and lead by the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation.
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