157 children died of measles in the African country of Zimbabwe. The number of infected has almost doubled in less than a week. Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Information announced this information on Tuesday. Reuters news.
Zimbabwe’s Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa held a press conference after the cabinet meeting yesterday. He said the number of possible measles cases across Zimbabwe rose from 1,036 to 2,56 in four days. Most affected children are under 6 months of age. Among them are 15 children belonging to religious communities that do not believe in vaccination.
Mutsvangwa said, ‘Most of those who have been infected have not been vaccinated against measles. To deal with this emergency, the government has implemented the Civil Protection Unit Act.
Mutsvangwa also said that schools in Zimbabwe are opening next September. The Ministry of Health wants to run the vaccination program before that. The government has sought the cooperation of elders and religious leaders in this regard.
A measles outbreak is expected to further strain Zimbabwe’s health sector. The sector has been in a fragile state for a long time due to health worker strikes and drug shortages.