Measles jab a must for all aged 20-35 in Oman: Health Ministry

 Everyone in Oman between the ages of 20 and 35 must have a vaccination jab to stop a measles outbreak, the Ministry of Health has announced, after a reported spike in cases.

The vaccination campaign will be in two phases, the ministry confirmed, and the first phase will begin on May 14. 

The ministry is already insisting that expats coming to Oman for a job have a vaccination certificate and those here within the age bracket must also take the jab.

Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saidi, Minister of Health, announced the national campaign for immunisation after a spike in cases. He said that the Ministry of Health monitored the prevalence of measles in the Sultanate and revealed there were 114 confirmed cases in 2016.

This year, by the end of April, 44 cases of measles have been recorded. Oman had effectively wiped out the virus but the minister said: “The increase in cases of measles in the Sultanate is attributed to the increase in the number of people arriving from neighbouring countries, and the increase in people travelling through the country from countries which are experiencing outbreaks of several diseases.

“The Oman outbreak coincides with the global epidemic of measles, with outbreaks in several neighbouring countries, as well as the Americas and Europe,” he added.

“An analysis carried out by the ministry indicated that the age group 20-35 years is the most vulnerable group to measles in Oman.

“The Ministry will carry out a National Measles Vaccination Campaign for nationals and residents aged 20-35 with the measles, rubella and mumps vaccine (MMR).

“Immunisation will be by injection vaccine, with one dose per person, and the ministry campaign will be in two stages.

“Phase I includes the provinces of Dhofar and Wusta, on the 14-20 May 2017. The second phase of vaccination against measles includes the rest of the governorates of the Sultanate. Teams will vaccinate the target age group during the campaign days.

The jab is free for all citizens and residents and will be available in government health centres and vaccination centres,” he said.

“The Ministry of Health appeals to citizens and residents aged between 20 and 35 years (born 1982 to 1997) to take the immunisation in order to protect themselves,” the minister added.

One expat who recently arrived in Oman for work said: “I had to have the MMR jab in Hyderabad three weeks ago before they would issue the work visa. It was part of the process.”

According to Dr. Mohan from Al Hayat International Hospital, the ministry has already done well to tackle cases of measles among the younger population with vaccination schedules at schools for students and in hospitals for newborn babies.

“I have seen no rise in children contracting measles as the ministry already maintains an excellent record in vaccinating children against measles. They make regular inspections every three months to check our vaccination schedules. There has been nothing told to us regarding this campaign yet. We will have to look at it,” he said.

Dr. Asha Selvaraj, Oman Medical College, said: “It is always said that a stitch in time saves nine, and I believe it is very important for you to get vaccinated. Prevention is always better than cure, and these days microbes can be quite harmful, so I believe it is important to go and get a vaccine.

“With summer just around the corner, you would normally think that the heat would kill microbes, but because we keep moving from hot outdoors to colder indoors in the Middle East, the body’s immunity takes a hit when we need to adjust to these temperatures, and that makes us more susceptible to sickness.

“I understand that there might be those who have certain religious or cultural beliefs against getting vaccinated, but vaccines today are very potent and effective, and so I would certainly recommend everyone to get this done at the earliest.”

Welcoming the move, Dr Pradeep Maheshwari, specialist of internal medicine at the Atlas Hospital, Ruwi, said the MMR vaccine was usually given in doses to infants in between 12 months and 18 months old.

He said if older people contracted these diseases then there are chances of complications. “There is a chance but things don’t normally get complicated,” he said.

Humaid Barakat, a 25-year-old Omani national, said, “If there is a measles outbreak, this is not good news but I think what’s wise is that the ministry of health has launched a campaign where they are making it mandatory for every resident and citizen to take the vaccine.

“This will help sort the problem to a great extent. I think our ministry does things to help and protect us all the time and this step must be in the right direction. I think what the ministry needs to do now is to make people more aware about this disease and issue warnings, which I am sure will come in due course.”

“We have not seen an alarming rise in measles patients. I think there is an outbreak outside Oman and the Ministry is proactively trying to curb any undue threat to Oman. Also, to obtain a new visa, I believe an MMR vaccine is required. These are all steps to control any threat,” Ahmed Kazi, GP at a Government hospital said.

Source: Timesofoman