Jump in measles cases

 By FAYE MIKA
THE number of measles cases in Port Moresby is escalating despite efforts from the Health Department to control the outbreak, an official says.
Dr  Niko Wuatai from the National Capital District Health Department said yesterday the presence of the measles virus in the community had increased from 19 to 57 in the past two weeks as reported by public and private health facilities.
“This airborne disease spreads like wildfire and despite our efforts there are still people in areas yet to be vaccinated and these are the ones affected,” he said.
Wuatai said the department was in its third week of a vaccination campaign, with 130,000 individuals between the ages of six months and 20 years being vaccinated.
A few over the age of 20 have been vaccinated in some clinics.
Wuatai said 103 schools in NCD had been visited since Monday and there were seven to go.
He made a call to small elementary schools, kindergartens and churches to call the NCDC Health Department on 325 4226 to schedule a visit from the mobile vaccination team if they wished to vaccinate their students.
He said because of the increasing number of cases, the department held a meeting last week with representatives from different health organisations to discuss a common approach to contain the outbreak.
The meeting saw administrators of public and private hospitals agree to supply vaccines to private clinics through government stores to vaccinate children free of charge.
He said they received help from organisations like World Vision and the World Health Organisation.