A 21-month-old boy died while undergoing treatment for measles in Thane on November 27, taking the toll to 18 in Maharashtra. The child, Arhan Khan, was admitted to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa.
Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) commissioner Abhijit Bangar said the child was detected with measles during a door-to-door survey last week. While he had been showing symtoms of measles since November 17, his parents were hesitant to admit him to the hospital.
“We had to counsel the parents to hospitalise the child. They admitted him in a private hospital but by then, his health had deteriorated,” Bangar added.
Within a week of being hospitalised, Arhan – who was not given the vaccine against measles – was shifted to the ICU as his condition further deteriorated. He died on November 27.
Among the measles associated deaths till, 12 deceased are from Mumbai, three from Bhiwandi, two from Thane and one from Vasai-Virar. Moreover, confirmed cases of measles has touched 745 in 14 districts of the state, said officials.
Following Centre’s guidelines, the BMC on Thursday started its additional vaccination campaign in Mumbai. It conducted 34 sessions of outbreak response immunisation, in which 20 infants between 6 to 9 months and 1,142 children between nine months to five years were administered additional doses against measles.
