Health Protection Agency (HPA) has revealed a third individual has been tested positive for measles.
HPA said 10 individuals were screened for the disease today, of which one was tested positive. This brings the total number of confirmed measles victims in the country to three.
The highly contagious viral disease had been eradicated in Maldives in 2017, before a 3 year old child in Male’ was tested positive last Saturday. Since then, a 30 year old man has also been tested positive for the disease. HPA said the first victim had not undergone the full vaccination dosage for measles.
HPA and the Ministry of Health has been conducting screening programmes in the atolls to identify more cases of measles. The ministry has also been collecting information on the individuals who have not been vaccinated for the disease.
Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen told the press that the ministry has been facing difficulties in obtaining vaccination records from the islands, adding the ministry will prepare a special vaccination database as part of the current campaign against measles.