City in Western Romania sees serious measles outbreak

The representatives of the Timisoara Hospital for Infectious Diseases 'Victor Babes', in Western Romania, expect the measles outbreak in that region to get worse. Some 124 children with measles were admitted into the hospital in December, and in the first three days of the year, another 30 new patients were let in. The youngest is only six weeks old, reports local Agerpres. In 2016, the hospital treated 364 measles cases. The measles vaccine was previously done at the age of 13 months, but the Health Ministry changed the protocol and the vaccine is now carried out at 11 months. Romania registered an alarming increase in the number of measles cases in 2016 compared to 2015, and several patients died due to this disease. “Compared to 2015, the increase is more than alarming. Last year there were only 7 confirmed cases of measles and none of them resulted in death,” the Ministry of Health representatives said in a Facebook post from September. The measles outbreak is related to a higher number of parents who have refused to vaccinate their children against this disease in recent years. The Health Ministry started a campaign to promote vaccination at the end of last year. Romanian Ministry of Health lowers vaccination age to limit measles outbreak editor@romania-insider.com