During the first four days of the immunization plan for infants in vulnerable groups, nearly 800,000 were vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, said Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Guya, head of the Management Center of Infectious Diseases.
“The plan aims to vaccinate two million infants aged 9 to 12 months in Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchestan, South Khorasan and Kerman provinces,” ISNA quoted him as saying.
While the immunization program will cover all towns and villages in Sistan-Baluchestan and Hormozgan provinces, in Kerman and South Khorasan only selected towns will be covered.
He pointed to the success story of Iran’s immunization program and said “In response to an increase in the number of cases from 1996 to 2002, a nationwide measles-rubella vaccination campaign was conducted in 2003, and 33 million in the age groups 5–25 years were vaccinated in one month.
During 2004–2009, only 221 measles cases were detected, primarily in rural areas and among migrant groups coming from high-incidence neighboring countries.
Routine immunization coverage, low disease incidence, and surveillance system data suggest that restraining endemic virus transmission might have been achieved in Iran, “but challenges remain and continued efforts are necessary to sustain this accomplishment,” he said.
Measles is still one of the most common infectious killer diseases of children in the world, especially in developing countries.
