Measles: Recorded cases increased in KL

PETALING JAYA: The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur recorded 73 cases of measles between Jan 1 and June 30 this year with 79% of them having not vaccinated against the disease.
Expressing concern over the sudden increase in cases, Director-General of Health, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the victims were aged between a month old infant to 43 years old adult.
"In view of the increase in cases, I advise parents to get their children vaccinated against the disease by going to any of the nearest government clinics," he said, adding that measles can be eliminated with vaccination.
Measles is a contagious disease that is caused by a virus. Measles starts with fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat. It's followed by a rash that spreads over the body. Measles virus is highly contagious virus and spreads through the air through coughing and sneezing.
Dr Noor Hisham said infants and children should receive two doses of the measles vaccination between the age of 12 months and 7 years old and this is to avoid getting the disease and its complications.
He added it is important for the measles vaccination coverage to be high (above 95%) to confer herd immunity, which means that the protection also covers the small group in the population who are not eligible to be vaccinated, such as immunocompromised patients who have been on chemotherapy or who underwent organ transplantation.