After bringing the outbreak of measles in the Naga Self-Administrative Zone (SAZ) under control, the Ministry of Health and Sports is planning to take another step for the prevention of tuberculosis in the area, as the measles virus also attacks the lungs and respiratory system.
The ministry planned to adopt short-term and long-term plans to improve the health standards in the zone and will carry out plans for the prevention and control of diseases in cooperation with the neighbouring region, which saw a similar outbreak of the disease in May.
Local authorities are currently discussing with residents in Naga SAZ to change the traditional designs of their homes in order to get good ventilation in their residences, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports.
“The report outbreak of measles at Htankawlamar Village in Lahe is correct, but the reported death toll of 13 in Nanyun is the total number in six months,” said Dr Soe Lwin Nyein, Director General of the Public Health Department, who also went to the Naga SAZ to control the disease. Medical teams from the ministry and the Tatmadaw rushed to the areas to fight the outbreak of the disease.
AN outbreak of measles which scourged some remote villages in far northwestern Myanmar’s Naga Self-Administrative Zone (SAZ) is now finally under control, according to the Naga SAZ authorities.
Specialists from the Public Health Department (PHD) of Nay Pyi Taw and Sagaing Region hospitals are reportedly administering vaccinations and providing medical treatment for locals in areas where the disease broke out. “The disease is now under control as specialists from the capital have come and given treatment. They’ve identified the previously mysterious disease as measles and it has since stopped spreading,” said U Kay Sai, chair of the Naga SAZ. The symptoms of measles reportedly start with a sore throat, increasing to a fever, then red spots that cover the whole body, before sufferers vomit blood. The disease can then prove fatal if not treated.
As of 7 August, the measles virus which broke out in June this year has reportedly claimed the lives of a total 41 people: 27 from villages in Lahe Township and 13 from Nanyun Township.