Measles outbreak in Mumbai: 11 new cases, one suspected death

Mumbai: Mumbai has reported 11 fresh measles cases and one suspected death amid the outbreak of the viral infection in the city, a civic official said.

With the latest cases, the infection tally in the metropolis so far this year has gone up to 303. The number of confirmed deaths from measles stands at eight and the suspected fatalities are three, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said on Monday.

The civic body in a statement said Mumbai will inoculate 1,34,833 children in the age group of nine months to five years. They will receive the additional dose (special dose) in 33 health posts from December 1.

"A total of 3,496 children in the age group of six to nine months in 13 health posts, where measles cases in the age group of less than nine months have been reported, will also be given an additional dose of Measles-Rubella vaccine," the statement said.

The BMC has surveyed 53,66,144 houses so far and 4,062 cases of fever with rash have been found, it said.

One death reported on Monday was of an unimmunised one-year-old girl residing in Andheri in the western part of the city, the statement said.

"It was a known case of congenital heart disease (ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus) and until two weeks back, the patient was admitted at a private hospital for treatment of the condition. She was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Kasturba Hospital here on Saturday with fever, rash and difficulty in breathing," the civic body said.

Her condition deteriorated and she passed away at 1.30pm, with the cause of death being cited as acute respiratory failure, measles with bronchopneumonia in a case of ventricular septal defect with patent ductus arteriosus, the civic statement said.