Zambia: Ministry of Health in Lavushimanda District has announced that they have successfully managed to contain the measles cases. The district has confirmed that they had recorded cases of the disease in the fishing camps around the district.
The officials have shared that the disease has affected the fishing camps of Kapilya and Muwele in Chiundaponde Chiefdom of Muchinga Province. The health ministry is dedicatedly working to address the situation.
They have been spreading awareness regarding the disease and urging affected communities to vaccinate themselves. The Lavushimanda District Health Director for Services, Rodrick Kamunga says the disease was controlled in Mid-2024.
This was done through the measles and rubella vaccination which was rolled out in September 2024 in the area. The administration of the Lavushimanda District Ministry of Health had been urging parents and guardians to get their children vaccinated.
The call was made in light of the disease’s seriousness and affect on the children of a certain age group. Measles and rubella have affected several lives negatively and the Ministry of Health is dedicated towards its elimination.
Dr Kamunga explained that the department managed to vaccinate all children below the age of Five years in the area. This number is inclusive of those who migrated to Lavushimanda with their parents for fishing businesses.
“It’s a long time and we don’t have measles cases now it was sorted out because those cases are the way they come, mostly it’s those in the fishing camps that have it and when we vaccinate, we target even those that come just for fishing,” he said.
Dr Kamunga told ZANIS that measles is a preventable disease through vaccines and that is why the Ministry of health rolls out the measles and Rubella vaccination every three years throughout the country.
In September this year, the department of Health hosted a stakeholder engagement meeting for measles. During this meeting, they announced that the department had recorded 89 suspected measles cases.
The cases were recorded in Lavushimanda from January to September 2024. The samples for the infections were taken to Lusaka for testing. Out of this number 14 samples tested positive to the disease.