Measles epidemic unlikely in Russia — expert
MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. A measles epidemic should not be expected in Russia, since vaccination problems are not widespread, Anatoly Altshtein of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology told TASS on Tuesday.
"I don’t think we should expect a big epidemic because even if there are any vaccination gaps, they are not widespread. So, an epidemic is highly unlikely," he said, adding that special attention should be focused on vaccination efforts if any outbreaks of the disease do occur.
"If there really are a lot of unvaccinated people, in particular children and young people, they need to be vaccinated," he said. "Naturally, a quarantine is possible, if there are a lot of cases, but it is important to find those who have avoided vaccination or have never been vaccinated and inoculate them. The vaccine is effective."
Earlier, the Moscow department of Russia’s sanitary watchdog Rospotrebnadzor demanded the Russian State University of Oil and Gas shift its classes to an online format for 21 days after several students came down with measles.
The watchdog’s chief, Anna Popova, said on April 13 that measles cases were detected in Russia but the outbreak of the disease was quickly localized.
