Cameroon: Measles Outbreak - Jan 2009

In early 2008, a measles outbreak started in Northern Cameroon and intensified with the arrival of Chadian refugees in that locality in February. 75 per cent of the victims were below the age of 5. Despite the Government leading an immunization campaign in 2008, several families deliberately refused to get their children vaccinated, and 84 per cent of measles cases registered were children who had not been vaccinated. By May 2009, 355 cases of measles had been registered in the region, including 64 cases in Jan 2009. An immunization campaign at the beginning of 2009 reached 124,787 children vaccinated, equivalent to 101.52 per cent coverage. (IFRC, 13 May 2009)