The Meghalaya government has once again stressed the importance of the ongoing vaccination campaign against Measles-Rubella (MR) while pointing out that the campaign is an important step towards reducing MR’s morbidity and mortality in the country. In a press release issued here on Thursday, the government pointed out that India is committed to the goal of elimination and control of Rubella/Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) by 2020. To achieve this goal, the MR campaign was launched in the country targeting all children from 9 months to 15 years of age. The campaign started in Meghalaya from September 24, 2018 onwards and is still continuing.

Measles is a highly infectious disease and causes a lot of childhood morbidity and mortality among children below 5 years of age. Rubella infection, although mild, can lead to foetal death, spontaneous abortion and a set of serious birth defects known as CRS, if an unimmunized woman is infected during early pregnancy, resulting in huge health burden to the family and the society. Both these diseases can be prevented by highly effective and safe MR vaccine.