BY chioma obinna  & ebele onnuorah
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, yesterday, blamed the high mortality rate from measles on underutilisation of measles vaccine.

To this end, the Lagos State government will today, flag-off a five-day combined ‘follow-up’ Integrated Measles Campaign, IMC, and National Immunisation Plus Days, NIPDs, as part of strategies to reduce measles mortality in the state.

Addressing  newsmen in Lagos to set in motion the exercise billed to run from February 23 to 27, 2011, Idris appealed to parents and caregivers in the state to ensure that their children from age of zero to five are immunised against measles and polio during the five-day exercise.

The Commissioner, who remarked that measles is a highly contagious viral illness transmitted through respiratory droplets and with higher mortality rate amongst children, noted that the worst hit during outbreaks of measles are malnourished children with Vitamin A deficiency and who live in crowded condition.

His said: “Measles immunisation is one of the most cost-effective interventions available and under utilisation of measles vaccine thus remain the primary reason for the high measles mortality.”

He further explained that to ensure success of the programme no fewer than 1,713 fixed posts, 2,154 house_to_house and 1,682 transit teams have been put together.

Fixed Vaccination Posts are permanent health facilities where immunization will be provided throughout the day for the five days of the campaign while the Temporary Fixed Vaccination Posts will include public and private schools, mosques and churches, town halls, houses of traditional leaders, bus stops or terminals and motor parks, streets and markets, and hard_to_reach areas and border communities.

He stated that Lagos State has made tremendous progress as regard immunisation, in the drive to eradicate polio and drastically reduce the incidence of measles and its attendant morbidity and mortality. “We, therefore, exude optimism that we are on the home stretch of this marathon race against the twin public health diseases of measles and polio.”

He disclosed that four other strategies have been adopted by the state government in its efforts to reduce measles mortality. These include; high coverage and quality routine immunization services; effective lab_based surveillance and monitoring of vaccine coverage amongst others.

The Commissioner said the overall goal of the 2011 IMC is to reduce childhood mortality and morbidity in measles and interrupt wild polio virus transmission among children.