Mumbai: Screen 3,000 Govandi houses daily, for the next 10 days, State health dept tells BMC

Residents of Rafi Nagar get their children vaccinated against measles and other preventable diseases at a camp, on Thursday

After mid-day's series of reports prompted the BMC to check and confirm measles outbreak at Rafi Nagar in Govandi, officials from the state health department visited the area on Thursday. They directed the civic officials to conduct door-to-door screening of all the 3,000 houses daily, for the next 10 days. Meanwhile, additional camps have been added to vaccinate children who have missed any of their shots.

The three-member team of the state health department has also directed the BMC to continue with the vaccination camps at Rafi Nagar for immunisation against measles as well as other preventable diseases. The Union health ministry will also send a team to take stock of the situation on Friday.

"We have directed the BMC to screen every house at Rafi Nagar daily, for the next 10 days. We have also asked the civic body to conduct a survey on the status of other vaccinations that are part of the children's immunisation programme. A special camp will be conducted to immunise kids who have missed their vaccination(s)," Dr Nitin Ambadekar, joint director (health services), told mid-day.

Also Read: Govandi kid died of measles in Oct: BMC

"There is a chance some parents might refuse immunisation, so we have told the BMC to take the help of local community leaders to convince them," he added. mid-day's reports on the acute viral respiratory disease's outbreak and fatalities have also prompted some local residents to willingly come to the vaccination camps to immunise their children.

"The resistance to vaccinations is generally high in Govandi, but, after the recent deaths due to measles, people have started to turn up for vaccination. However, there is another problem: migration. It becomes difficult to keep a track of huge slums where people keep migrating from time to time," said senior officials from the BMC and the state health department.

More camps erected

The BMC, which was carrying out their screening for measles, visited 705 houses, which covers a total population of 3,907 people, and six suspected cases were identified. The children have fever and rashes, said civic officials.

The BMC added five more vaccination camps on Thursday and immunised 130 children against measles, rubella as well as other preventable diseases. They also vaccinated eight pregnant women who had missed their vaccines that are necessary during pregnancy.

‘Need more manpower'

Requesting anonymity, a senior health official from the BMC, told mid-day, "To cover the vast and growing population, especially in Govandi, the BMC needs additional manpower. There is a plan to add more personnel to tackle the outbreaks in the vicinity. More community health volunteers and workers will be roped in." Since September, the BMC has found 21 confirmed cases of measles in M East ward (Govandi), and surveyed 69,218 houses so far.