Measles cases on rise in Kyrgyzstan

The epidemiological situation on measles in Kyrgyzstan is not entirely good, according to Aziz Sheyimbetov, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at the Republican Infectious Diseases Hospital, KABAR reports.

According to the Republican Center for Immunoprophylaxis, as of April 8 of this year, 7,864 cases of measles were registered countrywide.

Sheyimbetov said that cases of registration of patients continues, the dynamics remain. “You need to understand that when children are admitted to the hospital with any complaints, it could be measles, because measles and ARVI have very similar symptoms. The clinical picture of measles begins acutely: weakness, lethargy, lack of appetite, etc. - we can see all these symptoms with ARVI. This is the insidiousness of the disease,” he said.

The pediatric infectious disease specialist noted that measles is a vaccine-preventable infection, when it can be controlled through vaccination, but at the moment there are many refusals because of this, doctors are unable to localize and extinguish it. And for this reason, there is an increase in diseases in the country, not a decline.

The doctor reminded that complications of measles can lead to various bad consequences: brain damage, otitis media, stomatitis, intestinal disorder, pneumonia, etc. “This infection is very insidious in that it can penetrate the brain and infect it, as a result the child may develop encephalitis. There have been cases of death. Therefore, in order to avoid such complications, the Ministry of Health urges citizens not to refuse vaccination and undergo them.”