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During the pandemic years, a slight decline was observed, especially in the vaccination coverage of young children. “It is therefore all the more important to check one’s own vaccination status or that of the children and to close any vaccination gaps that may exist,” said the office of Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens). Austria has committed itself to the World Health Organization (WHO) to pursue the goal of measles eradication. In order to achieve the necessary community protection, vaccination rates of 95 percent with two partial vaccinations are necessary. The vaccination is generally recommended from the age of 9 months without age restriction and is free of charge. According to the Ministry of Health, the two-part immunization offers long-lasting protection against illness, severe courses and secondary diseases.
Four children in the hospital
Last year, only one case of measles was reported to the Ministry of Health by the responsible health authorities. So far this year there have been 25 infections, in addition to the 24 current cases in Styria, Carinthia and Vienna, another case in the federal capital, which is no longer active and therefore, according to the ministry, had no connection to the Styrian outbreak. So far, 22 cases have been known in Styria. In addition, according to the state’s medical directorate, there are still a few suspected cases that have not yet been evaluated, Ilse Groß, head of department, told APA. All patients are children. Four of them have to be treated in the LKH Graz.
At the beginning of the week, six children were still in inpatient treatment at the Graz children’s clinic because of their measles infection. On Wednesday, the number was reduced to four, according to the University Clinic for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine on request. According to Reinhold Kerbl, Head of the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, a child at the LKH Leoben was briefly inpatient at the beginning of the week, but was able to go home again.
Three suspected cases are now being checked in Carinthia, and the test evaluation should last until Thursday. Two of these are linked to the confirmed case of measles in a 19-year-old woman that was announced the previous day. The young woman is in quarantine in a hospital, but has a normal course, said Gerd Kurath from the state press service to the APA.
Source: Nachrichten
