In the Maldives, the total of measles cases now stands at 121.

In a social media update today, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) reported that 55 measles cases were identified in the Malé region last week. The agency noted that with the addition of these new cases, there have been a total of 121 measles cases reported this year.

The HPA has initiated a dedicated vaccination initiative to safeguard against measles, and the agency highlighted that 5,495 people have been vaccinated to date.

Pediatric expert Dr. Ahmed Faisal mentioned last Sunday that the current measles outbreak in the Maldives mainly impacts people aged 15 to 35, with only four children having contracted the illness thus far.

Dr. Faisal shared social media statistics from four years ago in 2022, highlighting that the disease predominantly affected unvaccinated individuals that year as well. He mentioned that this group represents the population at risk of contracting measles, pointing out that the rise in detected cases and their spread is because individuals are not receiving vaccinations.

In response to the rise in measles cases, a disease once declared eliminated in the Maldives, the government has started providing the MR vaccine to safeguard against the infection.

Vaccination sites in the Malé region consist of:

Urban Primary Healthcare (UPHC)

Hulhumalé Medical Center

Senahiya

Vilingilí Medical Center

In 2017, the Maldives eliminated measles. Nonetheless, the illness has sporadically been identified among expatriates residing in the country since that time. The situation intensified this time as the illness started to spread more among Maldivians.

With the increase in measles cases, the HPA is implementing extensive measures to manage the disease's spread.