site.btaUPDATED Measles Cases in Bulgaria Rise to 43 Across Three Regions

A total of 43 measles cases have been registered across three regions of Bulgaria, caretaker Minister of Health Michail Okoliyski said here on Monday. Of those, 37 are in Byala Slatina municipality, two in Pleven municipality, and one each in the municipalities of Kozloduy, Lukovit, Yablanitsa and Lovech.

Laboratory tests have confirmed 21 samples, while results for the rest are still pending, Okoliyski said.

Most of those infected are children aged between five months and 15 years. Two of the patients are adults. Those infected also include a 25-year-old man living in Lovech municipality and a 48-year-old woman living in Pleven municipality. Measles patients are being hospitalized in infectious disease units to limit the spread of the virus.

Each measles case is promptly reported and registered in the information system for collecting and analyzing data on measles, mumps and rubella cases in Bulgaria. Epidemiological investigations are under way to identify contacts and check their immunization status. Where necessary, they are being referred to their general practitioners for vaccination, the ministry added.

The search for children with missed vaccinations is continuing, as is the effort to reach children due this year for mandatory immunization or re-vaccination against measles.

Okoliyski urged all parents to check their children's immunization status and, if they have missed a dose, to contact their GP as soon as possible. Timely vaccination is the safest way to protect children from severe illness and to limit the spread of the disease, the ministry said. It also recalled that myths and facts about the measles vaccine can be found on its specialist immunization website, Plus Me.

Information on the number of cases will be updated daily at the end of each working day on the official website of the caretaker Ministry of Health.

Earlier on Monday, Svetlana Todorova, director of the healthcare establishment in Byala Slatina, where the infected children are treated, said the infectious diseases unit has reached maximum capacity.

The unit has 10 beds, and four additional beds have been added, all of which are occupied, Todorova said. Some of the children have complications, while others have milder cases. Some children will be discharged on Tuesday, so if a newly infected child arrives, that child can be admitted. If necessary, children will also be referred to an infectious diseases clinic in Pleven, she added. Todorova explained that the disease is covered under a clinical pathway reimbursed by the National Health Insurance Fund, but the length of stay also depends on the patient's condition.

At the request of concerned parents, a child from Kozloduy municipality who had been admitted to the hospital on Sunday with measles symptoms was discharged on Monday. “A serology sample was taken from the child on Monday morning to confirm the disease. Because a website reported that the child was in critical condition, the parents came and took the child away. The child was slightly better than on Sunday, but still showed clinical signs of measles,” Todorova said.

She added that there are currently about 30 measles cases in Byala Slatina municipality and that five children have been discharged from the hospital.

On March 19, the ministry said there were eight measles cases in Byala Slatina municipality and ordered emergency immunization across the country for all children who had missed vaccines.

The measles outbreak in Byala Slatina has for now been localized, but most of the infected children have not been vaccinated, Okoliyski said last week.