| 24 Nov 2008 |
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UAE to be Measles-Free Soon
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FUJAIRAH - Measles would be eradicated from the UAE soon, as 90 per cent of the people in the country have been vaccinated against the disease.
In fact, the number of measles cases has dropped from 2,820 in 1981 to 89 in 2007, which is below the normal level, Minister of Health Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Quttami said during his keynote address at the World Health Organisation (WHO) Meeting for Countries in the Eastern Mediterranean on Combating Measles and German Measles (Rubella).
The meeting was inaugurated by Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, at Rotana Hotel here on Sunday.
The UAE was among the first countries in the Eastern Mediterranean that had developed a plan to root out the disease and managed to upgrade a monitoring system by confirming clinical diagnosis and laboratory tests of all suspicious cases by national laboratories which acted as an authority, he noted.
The rate of measles cases fell from four in 1,000 people in 1981 to one in 1,000 people by the end of last year.
Al Quttami said this was the first such meeting being held in the country, and expressed the hope that it would contribute to speeding up implementation of the strategy to stamp out the disease.
Dr Mahmoud Fekri, Executive Director for Policy Affairs in the Ministry of HealthMinistry of Health
, read out an in-depth report containing the plans through which the disease would be completely eradicated in the country.
The report also outlined the cooperation between the ministry and other bodies concerned for providing vaccines against diseases like Hepatitis B and haemophilia.
These vaccines were being made available at all primary healthcare centres, maternity and child care centres and preventive medicine departments.
The ministry was also inoculating students at school primary health centres and training personnel working in this field to upgrade their knowledge and skills, Dr Fekri said.
© Khaleej Times 2008
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