By Max Patrick Ocaido
Countywide vaccination campaign against measles and rubella that was slated for September this year has been postponed, Health minister has announced.
In a statement released by Minister of Health Jane Ruth Aceng, government has postponed the mass vaccination campaign to 16-20 October 2019. The countrywide campaign targeting children below the age of 15 was slated for September 25, 2019 to September 29, 2019.
Aceng however, does not indulge into the details why the campaign has been rescheduled.
“Due to unavoidable circumstances, the Measles- Rubella mass vaccination exercise has been postponed to 16-20 October 2019. This campaign is intended to interrupt the current Measles-Rubella outbreaks in Uganda. Please take note of the change of dates,” Aceng tweeted.
Measles is highly contagious disease which spreads through the air and infects the respiratory tract. It often leads to serious complications including blindness, severe diarrhea and severe respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia.
On the other hand, rubella, is a disease transmitted by air droplets mainly through coughs from infected persons. Although, the two ilnesses do share some characteristics, including the red rash, rubella is caused by a different virus than measles, and is neither as infectious nor usually as severe as measles.
