Currently, as of April 26, 2024, 68 cases of measles have been registered.
In the territory of the city of Belgrade, as part of the epidemic reported on February 22, 2024, 45 cases of measles were registered, of which 37 were confirmed in the Reference Laboratory of the Institute of Virology. vaccines and "Torlak" serums, and eight sick persons are family contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases.
Among the sick are 12 children under six years of age, ten of whom were unvaccinated, one who had received a single dose of measles-containing vaccine, and one of unknown vaccination status. Ten unvaccinated persons aged 8 to 25, four fully vaccinated persons aged 14, 15, 16 and 23, as well as 19 persons over 35 years of age with unknown vaccination status. A complication in the form of pneumonia was present in three patients, according to the "Batuta" website.
At the beginning of February 2024, the first cases of measles were registered in Serbia, on February 22, 2024, a measles epidemic was reported in Belgrade, and on April 18, in the territory of the South Banat District.
In the last smallpox epidemic in Serbia, during 2017 and 2018, about 5800 patients were registered, of which 93 percent were unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated or with unknown vaccination status. One third of the patients were hospitalized due to complications. In this epidemic, 15 deaths were registered, among which there were four children.
Interest in the MMR vaccine has been growing since the measles resurgence
Since smallpox appeared in Serbia, interest in vaccination with the MMR vaccine has increased.
In 2023, a greater coverage of regular vaccination and revaccination was achieved than in 2022, but the number of those who received the third dose of the tetanus vaccine was lower, according to "Batut".
It is also emphasized that at the beginning of February 2024, certain diseases reappeared on the territory of Serbia.
Whooping cough is endemic in many European countries with epidemic waves every 3 to 5 years.
84,5 percent of children received the MMR vaccine in their second year of life, which is slightly more than in 2022, and 91 percent of them were vaccinated before entering the first grade of primary school, which is 1,5 percent more than in 2022. , said the director of "Batuta" for N1.
It is still necessary, as she emphasized, to carry out campaigns that support regular vaccination according to the established vaccination calendar in order to achieve the desired coverage of 95 percent of the vaccinated.
HPV vaccine
Serbia ranks among the countries that have introduced an important vaccine, namely the vaccine against the HPV virus, which is extremely important for maintaining the health of the entire nation and reducing the number of people suffering from some types of cancer.
"A total of 36.888 children between the ages of 9 and 19 have been vaccinated against the HPV virus by the end of 2023, and as part of the free vaccination campaign for students between the ages of 19 and 26, 1.724 people have been vaccinated so far, and there are still 276 doses of that vaccine left for students." , stated Dragica Jovanović for N1.
The vaccine against the HPV virus is most effective if it is received between the ages of 9 and 19, but that does not mean that immunization at an older age does not give the desired results for the creation of collective immunity, she stressed.
Deputy Minister of Health Jasna Janković stated that all those who have a dilemma about immunization must realize that the consequences of the disease are far more serious than the adverse effects of the vaccine.
"As for Serbia, we are aware that immunization and the implementation of the strategy of the World Health Organization on the eradication of the HPV virus is very important, and that is why this innovative drug for prevention is available at the expense of the state for all boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 19," she said. Jankovic.
According to her, Serbia is the only country that has approved the vaccine for both boys and girls at the same time because research has shown that every third boy over the age of 15 is infected with some type of HPV virus, and every fifth is infected with some of the oncogenic ones. types of that virus.
