Measles case reported in Palamu

Daltonganj: Suspected measles cases have surfaced in two villages — Baida and Bhandar — in Palamu district, civil surgeon Dr Anil Kumar Srivastava said on Wednesday.“In Baida, there are seven suspected cases out of whom one has tested positive.

In Bhandar, there are six suspected cases but their confirmatory test reports are awaited,” he said.

He added that an outbreak is declared when a particular place reports more than five cases.Sources said that blood samples are sent for testing to Rims in Ranchi. For analysis of virus strain, samples are first sent to AIIMS Patna followed by National Institute of Virology, Pune.“We have alerted all the community health centres, sub-divisional hospitals, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs to keep vigil on people with any symptoms,” he said.State govt carries out routine immunisation of measles and rubella where a nine-month infant is administered the first shot of vaccine, said district reproductive and child health officer Dr S K Ravi. “There is no dearth of vaccines in Palamu,” he claimed, adding that measles is a contagious disease, and may spread through cough, sneeze or body contact.Deputy commissioner Sameera S said, “Necessary instructions have been given to provide elementary care to measles patients without any delay.”