The incidence of measles in Ukraine has been decreasing for the second week in a row; however, a 25-day-old infant died in Khmelnytsky region.
According to the Public Health Center at the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, during the ninth week of 2019, a total of 2,524 people contracted measles, including 1,230 adults and 1,312 children. Unfortunately, a 25-day-old infant infected with the virus died in Khmelnytsky region.
In total, 10 people have already died from measles this year, including three children. Since the start of the measles outbreak, 31 people have died, the report said.
In the period from December 28, 2018, to March 1, 2019, some 26,544 people got infected with measles in Ukraine, including 11,797 adults and 14,747 children.
The highest incidence rates are reported in Lviv region (4,021 people: 1,335 adults and 2,686 children), Vinnytsia region (2,339: 1,014 adults and 1,325 children), Rivne region (2,299: 808 adults and 1,491 children), Khmelnytsky region (2,007: 1,073 adults and 934 children) and Kyiv (2,310 people: 1,293 adults and 1,017 children).
Read alsoUkraine suffers world's biggest rise in measles cases in 2018 – media
The ministry once again reminds that vaccination is the only way to protect people against measles.
Moreover, to ensure most reliable protection, all children should receive two of anti-measles vaccine. The ministry encourages everyone to comply with the immunizations schedule.
As reported, anti-measles vaccines have been distributed across all Ukrainian regions, as well as vaccines against mumps and rubella. The drugs were produced in Belgium and the U.S.: as of February 28, there were 1,259,232 doses delivered to Ukraine.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the number of new measles cases recorded across the world is growing rapidly, reaching an alarming level, according to UNICEF.
The worst situation is in 10 countries where more than 74% of new cases are recorded. At the same time, Ukraine ranked first among the TOP 10 countries where the number of cases in 2018 increased year-on-year.
