The Director of the Podgorica Health Centre and the chairman of the Association for Preventive Paediatrics of Montenegro, Nebojsa Kavaric, warned that there is a realistic risk of a measles outbreak in our country. According to him, it is a matter of time when it will break up in Montenegro.
An epidemic, recorded after 16 years in Kosovo, is an additional alarm for parents to bring their children to receive the MMR vaccine as soon as possible.
So far, 98 patients with measles, mostly children of school and preschool age, have been registered in the territory of Pristina and Kosovo Polje. None of them were vaccinated, said Kavaric.
He said that they were in contact with the Paediatric Association of Kosovo on a daily basis. About fifty children have been hospitalised in that country, and four of them are in a bad state, Kavaric told Pobjeda.
According to him, the campaign implemented by the Health Centre since the end of August produces results. As many as 1,000 children have been vaccinated in Podgorica since the campaign was launched.
Kavaric also urged colleagues from other cities to join the campaign and invite parents to vaccinate their children.
“We hope that new information from the surrounding countries will influence parents, particularly those who have delayed the vaccination,” Kavaric said.
The latest data from the Public Health Institute show that the drop in MMR vaccination has continued. Thus, out of 7,814 children born in 2015, almost 3,813 have not been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, which is 13% less than last year.
