فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Educational institutions have tightened their monitoring procedures for students to prevent the spread of the measles virus (known as “Bouhmroun”), based on directives from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. The goal is to avoid new cases among students and to prevent the transmission of the virus.
Regional education directorates have received strict instructions to monitor any child suspected of having measles to prevent the infection from spreading to classmates, while ensuring that health measures are taken in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Imane El Kouhen, responsible for school life at the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, stated that the ministry is working in coordination with regional education and training academies and regional health delegations to prevent new cases of the disease among students.
El Kouhen explained in a statement that coordination is taking place at the level of regions and provinces, focusing on areas and cities with the highest rates of infection. Efforts also include awareness campaigns within schools.
She confirmed that educational institutions have extended monitoring campaigns for students’ vaccination schedules and are guiding them to complete any missing doses, in coordination with their parents, in response to the Ministry of Health’s catch-up campaign taking place in its healthcare facilities.
Furthermore, she emphasized the necessity for students to adhere to personal hygiene measures, alerting school directors to the importance of monitoring any symptoms in children and immediately communicating with their parents and classmates who have had direct contact with them to limit the spread of the disease.
In this context, she assured that the ministry is addressing this disease normally without causing panic among students while adhering to necessary preventive measures to avoid an outbreak.
Health and Social Protection Minister Amin Tehrawi clarified during a session in the House of Representatives on December 30, 2024, that the cumulative number of recorded cases since October 2023 has reached 19,515, with an incidence rate of 52.2 cases per 100,000 people.
He also noted that there have been 107 deaths due to complications from the disease, half of which were among children under 12 years old. The minister mentioned that the outbreak began in the Souss-Massa region in late 2023 before spreading to Marrakech-Safi and then to other regions.
He emphasized the importance of vaccination as a fundamental and sole mechanism for eradicating this disease, pointing out that declining vaccination rates during and after the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the emergence of outbreak clusters.
