Swansea measles cases rise to 886

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 23 April 2013 | 21.24

23 April 2013 Last updated at 09:18 ET

The number of measles cases in the Swansea epidemic has increased to 886.

Public Health Wales (PHW) said 78 more cases had been reported since last Thursday with 80 hospitalised since the outbreak began last November.

Meanwhile parents have been warned against having single measles jabs at private clinics.

The British Medical Association (BMA) says single jabs are not as effective on people as the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Dr Mark Temple, co-chair of the BMA public health medicine committee, told BBC Wales Today that people taking single jabs remained at risk for longer.

He said: "They don't get the protection as quickly and because you have to have six injections with intervals between them, the period to which they're susceptible to one or other of the diseases is elongated.

"They are therefore at risk and, more importantly, others are at risk from them."

Health workers

Hospital staff are the latest group to be targeted for immunisation against measles.

Clinics will be open at all health units to ensure staff are protected and do not pass the disease on.

Continue reading the main story

The hardest-hit age group is those between 10 and 18 so we would remind those young people and their parents that now is the time to be vaccinated"

End Quote Marion Lyons Public Health Wales

As health workers are in the front line of the efforts to control the outbreak, they could be considered at greater risk of meeting people either suffering with the disease or incubating it.

Health chiefs are concerned that if hospital workers fall ill it can have a double impact as they will need care while reducing the number of staff available to deal with measles and all other demands.

Immunisation clinics are being run from 08:00 BST to 20:00 BST to ensure all staff are immunised, particularly those in children's units.

Health officials have thanked parents who have arranged MMR vaccinations for their children but warn there is an urgent need for more children to be vaccinated.

Thousands of non-routine MMR vaccines have been given in the last few weeks, including more than 10,000 across Wales in the last week alone.

But PHW says the outbreak is showing no signs of ending.

"The hardest-hit age group is those between 10 and 18 so we would remind those young people and their parents that now is the time to be vaccinated," said Dr Marion Lyons, director of health protection for PHW.

Of the new total of 886 cases, 712 have been in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg area - which covers Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend; 99 were in the Hywel Dda region - Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire; and 75 in the Powys health board area.

Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board has announced that 10 schools in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot are to be visited this week with the MMR jab being offered to more than 1,700 pupils.

Measures are also being taken in many other health authority areas around Wales.

Hywel Dda Health Board, which serves mid and west Wales, has announced plans to offer MMR jabs to all children and young people at secondary schools in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire from next Monday.

School clinics will also be held at all comprehensive schools in Powys, while the Vale of Glamorgan council is asking schools to help the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board organise sessions.

Vaccination drop-in sessions will also be held at the Elizabeth Williams Clinic, Llanelli, on Saturday.

Meanwhile tests are taking place to establish whether a man found dead at his home in Swansea last Thursday died from measles or other causes.

Gareth Colfer-Williams, 25, was known to have other health problems including asthma.


Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Swansea measles cases rise to 886

Dengan url

http://beritaasalusil.blogspot.com/2013/04/swansea-measles-cases-rise-to-886.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Swansea measles cases rise to 886

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Swansea measles cases rise to 886

sebagai sumbernya

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger