Fourteen more children in southern Moldova have developed measles symptoms, taking the total number of suspected cases to 86. Thirty-four cases of them have already been confirmed by lab tests, as further efforts are underway to verify the remainder. This was confirmed to IPN by a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

Moldova seems to be now on the verge of a measles epidemic after in early July a group of children in southern Moldova caught the highly contagious, yet perfectly preventable childhood disease following a visit to relatives in the Ukrainian town of Bolhrad, near the border. Later they went together with their parents to a summer camp in Ungheni, about 230 km north, near the border with Romania.

The camp was organized by a religious community that rejects vaccination and obviously the greatest majority of the kids who got the disease hadn’t received any shot of the required two.

The Moldovan health authorities warn that measles is very contagious. One infected child may infect another 18, with a 30% rate of major complications. Parents are urged to check with their family physicians whether their children have all the shots, and get them without delay if they’ve been skipped. Families are urged to exercise caution when visiting neighboring countries, especially countries with measles epidemics, and to inform their children’s schools or kindergartens on the children’s vaccination status.