A number of 198 cases of measles have been confirmed so far this year. During the first four days of September, there were recorded four new cases of measles. Another 68 suspect cases are being examined, IPN reports.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, the orange code advisory for an epidemic of   measles is still in force. The districts of Ceadîr-Lunga, Vulcănești, Ungheni, Taraclia, Cahul, Hîncești, Cantemir, Ocnița and Chișinău were the most affected the past week.

Measles spreads very swiftly in unvaccinated communities. A sick child can infect up to 18 children. The disease is very contagious and dangerous and its symptoms include fever and eruptions accompanied by cough, rhinitis and/or conjunctivitis. The consequences of measles are very serious and can even lead to death.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection calls on the population to get vaccinated as soon as possible, warning that immunization is the safest and most efficient method of protecting children against very serious diseases.

An outbreak of measles was witnessed at the start of August when a child from Ceadâr Lunga, who returned infected from a visit to Ukraine, during the incubation period stayed at a summer camp in Morenii Noi village of Ungheni district together with almost 100 persons who were mainly from southern Moldova.