A year after severe outbreak, more Somali-American kids are vaccinated against measles

This Saturday will mark a year since Minnesota experienced its most severe measles outbreak in recent history, and public health officials are still trying to get the word out about measles vaccinations.

In this 2017 photo, Amira Hassan, of Burnsville, Minn., plays in the waiting room at the specialty clinic at Children's Minnesota in Minneapolis, while her dad, Mohamud Hassan, fills out paperwork. A year after a measles outbreak, the vaccination rates in Minnesota have increased 16 percentage points among Somali-American children. Amy Forliti | AP

Last year, the state had 75 cases of the disease, making it the largest outbreak since 1990. Almost a third of those patients got so sick that they were hospitalized. Even though there is an effective measles vaccine, health officials say 91 percent of those who came down with the disease last year were not vaccinated against the disease.

Since last year, public health officials say they've implemented new strategies to help combat infectious disease outbreaks and educate parents about the importance of vaccination.

Have measles cases been discovered in Minnesota this year?

Yes. Earlier this month, health officials announced that a Somali-American child who had recently traveled to a country where measles is common came down with the disease. Measles has been identified in a second child who lives in Kenya but who traveled to Minnesota and also came down with the disease while here.

Public health officials say that these most recent cases are a good reminder that even if measles is rare in the United States, it's still important to get the vaccine because travelers can carry it with them and infect people who haven't had the shots.

Measles vaccine Thomas Kienzle | AP

Are vaccination rates up this year?

Among Somali-American kids, where last year's outbreak was centered, they are.

At the time of last year's outbreak, the vaccine coverage rate for Somali-American kids was 42 percent and this year it's about 58 percent.

The measles vaccination rate for non-Somali-American children is about 91 percent.

Why are fewer Somali-American children vaccinated?

A higher rate of Somali-American parents suspect vaccine causes autism. That's not backed-up by science, but the myth has been perpetuated in the community by anti-vaccine groups and advocates.

So before and after last year's outbreak, the health department worked to educate Somali-American parents about the measles vaccine.

What has changed since last year?

In the 2017 legislative session, legislators created a $5 million fund meant exclusively to combat major infectious disease outbreaks. That's because infectious diseases can strike quickly and unexpectedly and they require a rapid response. Some of that money has been used to target measles outbreaks.

At the same time, the legislature changed the state's quarantine statute. Previously, the law only provided quarantine protections to individuals with infectious diseases. But that proves problematic when kids are the ones being quarantined because they need an adult to stay at home with them. So the language was changed to extend those protections to caregivers and guardians as well.

What are some of the ongoing challenges the health department sees when it comes to preventing measles outbreaks?

Health officials say the biggest challenge is that they can't rest on their laurels. Kids across the state are being born every day, and the goal is for 100 percent coverage.

But specifically in the Somali-American community, these long-standing fears about the false link between vaccines and autism continue to be difficult to overcome.

That said, public health officials say they've learned a lot when it comes to talking about immunizations with members of the Somali-American community. For instance, focusing on debunking the link between vaccines and autism wasn't very effective. Public health officials said they learned that they needed to talk about child development more broadly and then talk about vaccines.

Meanwhile, the health department has added Somali-American outreach workers. And they continue to enlist help from faith leaders, which seems to have been effective because they play a critical role in disseminating accurate information.

By:Catharine Richert

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Somalia lays foundation for stronger immunization programming

19 August 2018 – Despite having one of the lowest immunization rates in the world, Somalia has made great strides in increasing immunization coverage in recent years with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health system strengthening partners. To enhance coverage even more, in early August 2018, WHO Somalia brought together all the major organizations and institutions involved in immunization to lay the foundation for better coordinated immunization efforts in Somalia.

Representatives from the Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the only major financial donor to immunization in Somalia, as well as implementing partners UNICEF, the Somali Federal Ministry of Health, and a number of nongovernmental organizations reviewed the progress of their collaborative efforts to expand immunization and identified key challenges in strengthening immunization coverage within Somalia’s fragile health system. 

Immunization coverage had improved since the previous year, partners noted, thanks in large part to better coordination among stakeholders involved in immunization efforts at the regional and district level, as well as improvements in cold chain storage and vaccine supply. As a result, measles cases continue to decline. 

Another notable sign of progress was the successful country-wide rollout of District Health Information Software, a platform for reporting, analysis and dissemination of health information, including immunization data. Better data will allow WHO and its partners to design better targeted interventions to close gaps in immunization coverage.

Shortages of qualified health workers, the uneven availability of cold chain storage and transportation for vaccines outside of major population centers, and ongoing hyperinflation and insecurity affecting immunization operations were all identified by partners as major challenges to overcome in improving immunization throughout Somalia.

Over the next year, WHO and health partners in Somalia will work to close staffing and capacity shortfalls in the Somali health workforce, support the Ministry of Health to develop annual immunization work plans, improve data management, and launch immunization outreach services for rural and underserved populations. Health partners also stressed the need to step up engagement with communities in order to promote the broadest possible involvement by parents and children in immunization campaigns. 

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SIXTEEN nurses who work at the SAME Arizona hospital discover they are all pregnant

Something must be in the water! 

• Sixteen nurses at the Banner Desert Medical Center in Arizona are pregnant  
• Nurses recently discovered they are all expecting between October and January 
• Hospital gave the women onesies that read: 'Relax! My mom is a Banner nurse!'

A baby boom is brewing at a suburban Arizona hospital where 16 intensive care nurses recently discovered they are all pregnant.

The nurses at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa outside Phoenix joked Friday they thought there was something in the water when it became clear they were all expecting babies between October and January.

Nurse Rochelle Sherman, nearly eight months along, said: 'I don't think we realized just how many of us were pregnant until we started a Facebook group.'

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Sixteen nurses (12 pictured) at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa joked Friday that they thought there was something in the water when it became clear they were all expecting babies between October and January 

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The hospital on Friday gave the women one-piece rompers (pictured) reading, 'Relax! My mom is a Banner nurse'

Nurse Jolene Garrow joked: 'We all formulated this plan to have the holidays off!'

Garrow said that as their pregnancies have progressed, the patients have begun noticing that most of the nurses around them are expecting. 

One patient insisted on touching her belly the night before, she said.

Garrow added that their non-pregnant colleagues have been great at helping with patients they should not be exposed to because of conditions or treatments that are potentially dangerous for expectant women, such as tuberculosis or shingles or chemotherapy because of the radiation.

'They just roll their eyes!' she laughed. 'More baby talk!'

Hospital officials noted that the Banner medical center chain has a pool of floating nurses that should ensure shifts are covered when their ICU nursing specialists begin taking their 12-week maternity leaves starting in the fall.

The nurses said their colleagues are throwing a group baby shower next week. The hospital on Friday gave the women one-piece rompers reading, 'Relax! My mom is a Banner nurse!'

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One nurse said that as their pregnancies have progressed, the patients have begun noticing that most of the nurses around them are expecting

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Most of the sixteen pregnant nurses who work together in the intensive care unit at Banner Desert Medical Center show their baby tummies on Friday 

The nurses said their colleagues are throwing a group baby shower next week 

By DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER and ASSOCIATED PRESS

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German doctor stabbed to death at practice

Police have identified the suspect as a 26-year-old man from Somalia. The city of Offenburg only has 60,000 people, but is regarded as a crime hotspot.

A doctor was stabbed to death in his own practice on Thursday in a seemingly unprovoked attack in the south-western German city of Offenburg.

A 26-year-old man allegedly entered the surgery without an appointment and attacked the doctor and an assistant. The assistant was injured during the early morning attack.

He then fled the scene, prompting a manhunt involving more than 20 police cars, helicopters and a canine unit, and was soon caught.

Police identified the suspect as a man from Somalia. They said he left the knife behind at the scene.

The city of 60,000 is considered a crime hotspot in the state of Baden-Württemberg .

Violence in medical practices has occurred several times in Germany in recent years. In 2016 a pensioner shot an orthodontist in a Berlin clinic. And in 2015, a 44-year-old man killed his psychiatrist with eight shots in a Saarbrücken practice.

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How poor health in Somalia negatively affects Mandera locals

Mandera is prone to outbreaks of chikungunya, cholera, dengue fever and polio because of proximity to Somalia and the nomadic lifestyle of residents.

a clinical officer giving out polio vaccine to a young child on 12th.July.2018/EZEKIEL AMING'A

Health executive Mohamud Aden on Monday said uncontrolled cross-border movement has led to spread of diseases from neighbouring Ethiopia and Somalia where there are poor interventions to control outbreaks.

Aden who spoke in Elwak town at the end of a month-long polio vaccination campaign said the county wants to immunise children aged five and below.

“Previous campaigns have failed to achieve desired results because of insecurity, cross-border movement and the influx of pastoralists from the neighbouring countries,” Aden said.

He said Somalia and Ethiopia have poor health infrastructure leading to outbreak of many diseases.

“These areas lack proper health interventions which have always rendered us vulnerable to the outbreaks,” he said.

The official said chikungunya, cholera and dengue fever outbreaks have often been “imported” from the neighbouring countries.

“As a county, we cannot strengthen the fragile health system in Somalia. International NGOs should help,” Aden said.

He said the county was doing everything possible to secure residents. He said measures including enhanced security had been made for the vaccination drive to reach areas that were previously inaccessible.

Mandera has zero resistance to polio, a fact Aden attributed to failed immunisation campaigns.

“We can only talk of resistance once we have fully immunised ourselves. Segments of our people are not yet immunised. That coupled with the high influx of foreigner s means we are vulnerable,” the executive member said.

The vaccination drive was aimed at reaching 200,000 children but Sheikh said yesterday that a total of 222,008 were immunised.

“The IDP influx in parts of Mandera West and Banisa and the movement of pastoralists from Wajir and Somalia contributed to the surpassing of the target,” Aden said.

Residents have praised the drive. “The county has given priority to healthcare, a service that was previously neglected by the national government,” Elwak resident Abdi Gedo said.

The vaccinaction drive was conducted in 11 other counties including Garissa, Wajir, Nairobi, Isiolo, Lamu, Kajiado, Kiambu, Tana River, Meru, Machakos and Kitui.

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