An experienced consultant paediatrician is urging parents to waste no time and have their children vaccinated after the health authorities alerted doctors to a possible measles outbreak.
The paediatrician, Victor Grech, told the Times of Malta the problem was “very serious” and parents should rush to take their children to clinics to be vaccinated.
Not doing so was “illogical” and could put other, more vulnerable patients at risk, he warned, adding that the vaccine was offered for free to all children.
On claims that the vaccine could cause children harm, something parents often claimed when refusing to have them vaccinated, Prof. Grech said such fears had been discounted years ago.
“People still believe data that was published about 12 years ago by a doctor who has now been removed and the information discredited,” he said.
“It’s very irresponsible and illogical not to give children the vaccine.”
Children are given the MMR vaccine when they are 13 months old followed by a second dose when they are between three and four in accordance with the local immunisation schedule.
It’s very irresponsible and illogical not to give children the vaccine
Individuals who have received two doses of measles vaccine or confirmed to have measles infection in the past are considered immune.
Doctors have been advised to take extra care when treating patients with measles symptoms after five cases of the disease were reported, prompting fears Malta could be facing an outbreak.
Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci informed doctors through a letter earlier this week that one of the five reported cases reported resultedfrom “local transmission after relatively minor exposure without personal protective equipment”.
The highly-infectious diseases can be contracted even when there is minimal contact and infected persons become contagious from four days before the onset of a rash to four days after.
“Despite measles and rubella elimination being sustained, Malta is facing the serious risk of importation through travellers, international students and workers,” Dr Gauci told the doctors.
However, Health Minister Chris Fearne told the Times of Malta that while the risk of an outbreak existed, it was not yet the case in Malta. While insisting that parents should ensure their children were vaccinated, Mr Fearne said that if there were to be an outbreak, Mater Dei Hospital was well-equipped to handle the situation.
Hospital CEO Ivan Falzon pointed out that while it was the public health department that issued guidelines in the case of an outbreak, Mater Dei staff took precautions on a daily basis and, following the measles alert, they were now simply being more careful.