IVORY COAST: HEALTH AUTHORITIES LAUNCH VACCINATION CAMPAIGN TO COMBAT MEASLES EPIDEMIC.

Record ID: 183801

  • Title: IVORY COAST: HEALTH AUTHORITIES LAUNCH VACCINATION CAMPAIGN TO COMBAT MEASLES EPIDEMIC.
  • Date: 18th March 1978
  • Summary: 1. LV PAN: Abidjan market and street. 0.11 2. SV: Women and children thronging in street. 0.16 3. SV ZOOM INTO CU: Doctors vaccinating children at open air clinic (5 SHOTS) 0.58 4. SV: A suburb of Abidjan. 1.02 5. SV & CU: Small boys being inoculated at another clinic. (4 SHOTS) 1.35 Initials JS/2220 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 2nd April 1978 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Reuters ID: LVA5HWINQWL1E796MIOBO0YIPA1W
  • Story Text: In Abidjan, the capital of the ivory Coast, health authorities have launched a vaccination campaign in an attempt to stop the spread of a measles epidemic which has already reached dangerous proportions.

    SYNOPSIS: Measles, a comparatively mild illness in Western nations, can cause grave complications among African children. When an increase in cases were reported in Abidjan, the campaign to vaccinate all children between the ages of six months and three years was launched.

    In spite of a vigorous advertising campaign, it was not until the vaccination teams left their clinics and went out into the streets of the city that the spread of the epidemic began to be controlled. On Wednesday (15 March), the doctors moved into Abidjan Market, a thriving and crowded centre where mothers and children queued up to receive the protection offered by high-speed vaccination. One of the problems lies with the large number of workers who come into the capital from the surrounding country areas. This movement poses a continual threat for the spread of any epidemic.

    There are already cases of measles being reported outside the ???ty. The campaign has adopted the slogan "immunisation protects your children", and parents are reminded that the responsibility for this protection rests with them. All the health authorities can do is provide the most up-to-date equipment and well-trained teams to carry out the vaccinations. The Director of the Institute of Hygiene and Health in abidjan, Dr. Emou Koffi, said a similar campaign last year had reduced cases dramatically.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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