Stopping measles in Romania

9 May 2017

WHO/Malin Bring

Stopping measles... 1

A large outbreak of measles has spread across Romania over the past year, making thousands ill and taking over 30 lives. While all ages have been affected, the highest burden has fallen on children, including a large number of infants too young to be vaccinated.

WHO/Malin Bring

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Vaccination coverage rates have been persistently low in recent years; vaccination against measles and rubella has fallen from 97% in 2005 to 86% in 2016 (WHO/UNICEF). In some isolated parts of the country, the rates are even lower. Coverage of 95% is needed to protect an entire population from measles and to eliminate endemic transmission of the virus.

WHO/Malin Bring

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Barriers to vaccination in Romania include hesitance to vaccinate among some parents and health workers, as well as occasional shortages or delays in the supply of vaccines. In addition, studies are ongoing to determine the impact that poverty, inferior infrastructure and a lack of easy access to health services in some communities may have on vaccination uptake.

WHO/Malin Bring

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In 2016, the Ministry of Health, together with WHO, the National Institute of Public Health, the National Society of Family Medicine, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), launched an action plan to limit the measles outbreak. The plan includes supplemental immunization activities and introduction of a “dose zero” of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, to be given to children between the ages of 9 and 11 months.

WHO/Malin Bring

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In 2017, a group of experts convened by the Ministry of Health drafted a new law on vaccination to go into effect in January 2018, which underlines the right of children to health. The proposed law defines the tasks and responsibilities of all actors involved in vaccination and would introduce mandatory vaccination as a prerequisite for school enrollment. The law is also designed to respond to the vaccine supply crisis, by stipulating that the Ministry of Health is responsible for ensuring the supply.

WHO/Malin Bring

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A number of meetings and conferences, both for the general public and for health workers, have been held throughout the country to inform people about the outbreak and of the necessity of vaccination. This community meeting about the importance of vaccination against measles was organized in the Roma community of Merisani.

WHO/Malin Bring

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Triggered by the outbreak, an extensive public information campaign has been launched to reach those who remain unvaccinated. The Ministry of Health launched the website “Vaccines save lives” in December 2016. The National Society for Family Doctors has a website for its members, with e-learning courses such as how to improve communication about vaccination with parents.

WHO/Malin Bring

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Internet sites where parents can discuss vaccinations have been set up, both by medical personnel and as a private initiative by the blogger Ovidiu Covaciu in Bucharest. Covaciu runs a popular Facebook group, where he discusses and debunks vaccine myths. The National Society for Family Doctors and the society “Access to Health” run the information site Edumedical.

WHO/Malin Bring

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Family doctor Gindrovel Dumitra in Sadova is guardedly optimistic about the chances of overcoming the measles epidemic. “I think we can defeat the outbreak. We have strong support in the population.” Dr Dumitra is coordinator of the Immunization Working Group at the National Society of Family Medicine and a member of the National Council of the Romanian College of Physicians. “We have only had one case of measles in our community, and it didn’t spread. I put it down to the dedication of my staff and the trust we have earned in the population.”