North West Region

Measles outbreak kills two in Menchum
Two children are confirmed dead as a result of Measles out-break at Benakuma- Menchum Division of the North West Region. The confirmation was made by the Secretary General at the North West Governors Office while launching the injectable polio vaccine within the framework of the expanded programme of immunization in Bamenda.
    Health experts have blamed the deaths on negligence and ignorance by parents of the deceased who had hesitated taking their children to the hospital. Reports say they were holding tight to a traditional belief that children infected with measles always die whenever injected.
    According to Dr. Sama Julius, Head of Unit of the Expanded Programme on Immunization in the North West Regional Delegation of Public Health, the two confirmed cases were compounded by malnutrition
    In order to combat this health hazard from degenerating, a team of public health experts led by the North West Regional Delegate of Public Health Dr. Manjo Matilda patrolled the11 districts of the North West Region affected by the epidemic. From their findings, 106 cases of measles were registered, out of which 85 of them were resolved.

    The team furthered administered vaccination on over 4,438 ranging from 0 to 10 years in six affected villages and two neighboring communities.
    In the past few months, there have been reported cases of measles in some 11 Health Districts in the North West Region. There are Ndu, Nkambe and Nwa in Donga-Mantung, Ndop in Ngoketunjia, Kumbo East and Kumbo West in Bui, Bamenda in Mezam, Wum in Menchum, Batibo in Momo and Fundong in Boyo Divisions. Recently in Benakuma in Menchum Division, two deaths out of four were established to be the result of the disease.
    According to health experts some 53 health districts nationwide have registered cases of Measles.