At least 6,081 cases of measles have been registered since the beginning of the year in Kyrgyzstan. Director of the Republican Center for Immunoprophylaxis, Gulbara Ishenapysova, announced at a briefing.
She noted that the outbreak began in 2023 with 7,046 cases recorded.
«Due to the seasonality of the disease, growth is registered in the autumn-winter period, the year started tensely,» she said.
Gulbara Ishenapysova added that in fulfillment of the protocol instructions of the Cabinet of Ministers, work to localize the outbreak has been stepped up. In particular, an additional immunization campaign is being carried out; changes have been made to the vaccination calendar — the age of the second vaccination has been moved from 6 years to 2 years. Active work is underway with the Spiritual Directorate of the Muslims of Kyrgyzstan, since the majority of refusals of vaccination (48 percent) are due to religious reasons.
Ishenapysova added that there is no specific treatment for measles. In this case, the disease kills the immune system. «Children who have recovered from the disease are discharged with very weak immune systems. It will take about a year to recover, and during that time the child will be open to infections,» she said.
