Young children in Borno State are still suffering from measles, seemingly because some of their parents are not willing to participate in immunisation campaigns.

Negligence, ignorance and poverty have played a role in the low turnout at immunisation campaigns and this has been a huge setback in the fight to eliminate measles.

RNI reporter Falmata Tijjani Bukar visited the Jere Local Government Area in the state to talk to parents who had not had their children vaccinated.

When asked why she had not taken her child to the hospital for a measles vaccination, one mother said: “I am not too sure about this immunisation vaccine because it seems that, with or without it, the disease can transfer among children. But I understand that having the vaccine is the healthier option because it is likely to reduce the effect of the disease for children that suffer from it.”

Fatima Bukar, a mother whose child has been suffering from symptoms of the disease for almost a week, said she believed in traditional medicines, which she had been giving her child.

“As you can see rashes have started to appear on my son’s body but I depend on the local medicines I am giving him to cure him. But it’s not as if I am avoiding the hospital at all. God has not granted me the chance to go and sometimes financial problems also stop me from going.”

Bukar Kawu Lawan, a clinician at the primary healthcare facility in Jere, said that as health workers they continued to face problems with the low turnout of people bringing their children for vaccinations, “especially in the northern part of Borno”.

“Unlike the southern part of the state, parents in the northern region don’t seem to want to participate much in measles vaccination campaigns. Sometimes workers go from house to house searching for young children to vaccinate but then the parents refuse to allow it. We sometimes resort to begging them allow us to immunise their children but it’s all in vain,” Lawan said.

He attributed the problems to ignorance and sometimes the negligence of parents.

“We see at least 17 cases of measles in this clinic in a month.”

He advised parents to start immunising their children at an early age to reduce the prevalence of the disease and also to protect them while they were growing.

“We have advised parents to shun traditional cures and medicines because they will not work. We have the right medicines at our clinic and there is sufficient quantity. Parents should come to the clinic when they see the first symptoms in their children. The sooner they are treated, the sooner they will get better,”he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the best protection against measles was the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which provided long-lasting protection against all strains of measles.

Measles, or rubeola, is a viral infection that starts in the respiratory system. It still remains a significant cause of death worldwide, despite the availability of the safe, effective vaccine.

Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) − also known as Doctors Without Borders – said measles was extremely contagious and serious. It was especially dangerous for young children and could even be fatal.

The CDC said some people regarded measles as just a little rash and fever that cleared up in a few days but it could cause serious health complications, especially in children younger than five years of age.

It said some of the common symptoms included a high fever, cough, runny nose, red, watery eyes and a rash.

Measles was spread through the air when an infected person coughed or sneezed. It was so contagious that if one person had it, up to nine out of 10 people around him or her could also become infected if they were not protected, the organisation said.

An infected person could spread measles to others even before knowing he or she had the viral infection – from four days before developing the measles rash to four days afterwards.

Children younger than five and adults older than 20 years of age were more likely to suffer from complications, including ear infections and diarrhoea. Serious complications included pneumonia and encephalitis.

If women were not immune to measles and became infected while pregnant, there was a risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. The baby could be born prematurely (before the 37th week of pregnancy) and have a low birthweight.