Over 60 children, mostly between 10 and 19 years of age, have been infected with the measles virus in Dhorpatan Municipality, Baglung in western Nepal.

The measles outbreak has hit wards 7, 8, and 9 of the municipality for the past 10 days.

Health officials say that 14 children with high fever and rashes all over the body, have been admitted to local hospitals.

“The disease is still spreading, and even infants under nine months have been infected,” Bhumishwar Sharma, a public health officer serving at the Dhorpatan Municipality, told the Post over the phone from Baglung. “Spread of the disease has been suspected in the adjoining Badigad Rural Municipality, as several patients there have been hospitalised with fever and rashes.”

Measles is a highly contagious disease transmitted through fluids from the nose, mouth or throat of an infected person. It can be potentially deadly for unvaccinated people. The disease can be prevented with a two-dose vaccine, administered to babies at 9 months and 15 months. The government provides measles vaccines free of charge from health facilities across the country.

Baglung’s outbreak is the second in Nepal over the past one and a half months. Earlier, Malangawa Municipality in Sarlahi district witnessed measles cases.

Health officials suspect that the virus has reached Baglung from a person who recently travelled to disease-hit areas.

They say that around 90 percent of the infected people are between 10 and 19 years old, and most families could not confirm the vaccination status of their children.

“We cannot rule out that these children may not have been administered the measles vaccine, or they may have received only a single dose, as prior to 2015, only a single dose was administered,” said Sharma.

Immunisation experts say that measles outbreaks in different districts indicate low immunisation coverage and wide vaccination gaps.

“This has also made our measles elimination goals challenging,” said Dr Shyam Raj Upreti, an immunisation expert, who is also the former director general of the Department of Health Services. “Whatever our internal data show, vaccine coverage is not uniform, and we have to make additional efforts to reach unvaccinated populations. ”

Low vaccination coverage, a floating population, a lack of public awareness of the importance of vaccines, and apathy among government agencies in plugging the loopholes are among the reasons for the regular outbreaks of measles across the country, according to experts.

Nepal had aimed to eliminate measles by 2026, as there had been no outbreak since June 2023. However, outbreaks in Baglung and Sarlahi within a short span of time have hindered the country’s progress towards meeting the goal.

The country earlier missed the 2023 and 2019 deadlines. Major measles outbreaks occurred in 2022 and 2023.

To declare measles eliminated, cases must be fewer than five per 1,000,000 people per year. The country must verify progress through foreign, independent verification. For independent verification, there should be no new outbreak for three consecutive years, officials say.

Doctors say people of all age groups are vulnerable to measles. Underage children, pregnant women, elderly people and those with weak immunity, such as HIV-infected people, are highly susceptible to the disease.

Early symptoms, which usually appear 10-12 days after infection, include high fever, runny nose, bloodshot eyes and white, tiny spots inside the mouth. Several days later, rashes develop on the face, upper neck and other parts of the body.

Some people may experience severe complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis, and these diseases may also cause death.

Meanwhile, the Immunisation Section of the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services says that health authorities will begin vaccinating children in the affected rural municipality from Friday.

“We will administer the measles vaccine to around 7,000 children between 10 and 19,” said Dr Abhiyan Gautam, chief of the Immunisation Section. “This time, children between 10 and 19 years of age will be administered with vaccine, as 90 percent of infection has been seen in this age group.”

Measles was endemic in Nepal, and an average of 90,000 cases were recorded every year from 1994 to 2004. Routine measles vaccination began in the country in 1979, starting with three districts. The campaign was made nationwide after 10 years.