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| PRESS CONTACT: Perpetua Socorro Gonzaga, M.D. CDC, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (770) 488鈥?483 |
Vitamin A deficiency is a severe public health problem among pre-school children with a prevalence of 63.3% in Kosrae state and 33.8% in Yap
proper, in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). In this country, vitamin A deficiency is found in children who do not appear to have other
nutritional deficits. It is very likely that the vitamin A deficiency problem extends to other segments of the population. The current efforts to
provide targeted population supplementation through vitamin A capsule distribution is not sufficient to fully address this problem. A
comprehensive, multi-faceted, long term approach to promote sustained improvement in vitamin A status is necessary to address the pervasive
problem of vitamin A deficiency in FSM.
In March 2001, the World Health Organization set a goal for reducing global measles deaths by 50% by 2005.
| PRESS CONTACT: Gustavo Dayan CDC, National Immunization Program (404) 639鈥?115 |
In Zambia, measles is 1 of the 5 major causes of sicknesses and deaths among children 5 years of age and younger. In August 1999, supplementary
vaccination activities (SVAs) were conducted in Lusaka, Zambia. Although conducted in accordance with WHO recommendations, SVAs in Lusaka had
limited impact on measles morbidity and mortality during the 11-month period following the intervention. Possible reasons for this include
vaccination coverage during SVAs was no greater than the routine coverage achieved in earlier years; SVAs were restricted to children 9鈥?9 months
(approximately 20 percent of recorded measles cases occurred among persons 5 years of age and older); and SVAs were limited to urban areas. Future
SVAs should target a wider age group and geographic area. Additionally, improvements in the vaccination infrastructure and surveillance are
needed.
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CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z This page last reviewed Friday, June 22, 2001 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
