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Measles Kills Hundreds of Nigerian Children

Posted on: Friday, 18 March 2005, 21:00 CST

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Hundreds of children have died from an upsurge in measles cases in Nigeria, despite a series of local vaccination campaigns aimed at combating the disease, health authorities said Friday.

At least 589 have died from measles so far this year, mostly children under five in northern states, according to figures from the World Health Organization and the Nigerian Red Cross. The most seriously affected state of Kano, in the north, saw 155 deaths.

Measles epidemics typically peak in Nigeria in March, said WHO spokeswoman Melissa Corkum from the capital Abuja, meaning the death toll could become still heavier.

Corkum said that, despite the large number of deaths, increased immunizations are steadily lowering the impact of the disease in Nigeria - one of the three countries most affected by the disease worldwide, alongside India and Pakistan.

"The level of immunity for measles in the country is low, but it's improving," said Corkum, adding that children remained vulnerable.

Until now, immunizations in Nigeria have been restricted to certain regions, but Nigeria's government plans to conduct its first nationwide measles vaccination campaign in December, assisted by United Nations agencies WHO and UNICEF.

Nigeria has recorded 20,859 measles cases so far this year. There were 112,325 cases in the whole of 2003, and 24,363 until September last year, according to the latest available data.

Measles deaths in Africa fell from 873,000 in 1999 to just over 500,000 - or half the global total - in 2003.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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