Information about measles was provided by the National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) on April 13. Ts.Bilegtsaikhan, head of the NCCD reported “Last year, in 2022, 172,000 cases of measles were registered in 182 countries. This is three times more than the previous year. But in the first quarter of this year, 22,000 cases of measles have been registered in more than 100 countries. Measles cases have been reported in China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Russia. It has been 34 years since our country introduced the vaccine against measles in 1973, and this vaccine protects from measles and rubella, and two other infectious diseases. UGU vaccine against these three infectious diseases is administered to children in two doses, at nine months and two years of age.”

He continued, “Regarding the incidence of measles, outbreaks were recorded every three to four years between 1973 and 1989. Although the number of outbreaks has decreased since 1989, when the measles and rubella vaccine was introduced, four major measles outbreaks occurred in 1992, 1995, 2000 to 2002, 2015 and 2016. Looking at the international and national data, there is an outbreak of measles in neighboring countries. So, although measles is not registered in our country, there is a risk. A measles risk assessment was conducted last week. It has been concluded that there is a certain risk of measles and has been sent to 21 provinces. Measles can be completely prevented by vaccination.”