Radio România Internațional

Tag: measles epidemic

  • 9 May, 2017

    9 May, 2017

    Celebrations.
    Romania celebrates three important public holidays today: the proclamation of
    its state independence in 1877, World War II Victory Day and Europe Day. The
    defence ministry organised military and religious ceremonies in Bucharest and
    garrisons across the country in memory of the heroes fallen on the battlefield.
    The Romanian Academy hosted a solemn meeting to celebrate the 140th
    anniversary of the proclamation of Romania’s independence. The Romanian
    soldiers fought in the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 and obtained their country’s
    independence from the Ottoman Empire.




    Klaus Iohannis address. A
    country project requires the clear-sightedness of the political class and the
    cohesion between the latter and society, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis
    told Parliament on Tuesday on the 140th anniversary of Romania’s
    state independence and the celebration of Europe Day. The president explained
    that authentic democracy cannot do without a strong Parliament, and a modern
    Romania cannot develop without a coherent legislative framework. Also, the
    president said the lessons of the past clearly showed that Romania only
    developed when it joined European progressive political processes and when
    visionary politicians put national projects above party interests. The
    president thus believes that there is no other option for Romania but to
    develop as part of a united and strong Europe, while pointing out that Romania
    is not a second-rank state in the European Union and that this prejudice must
    be overcome.




    Europe Day. The European Commissioner for regional policy
    Corina Cretu celebrates Europe Day in Bucharest, where she is attending a
    series of events held by the EU Representation in Romania. These include
    debates on the Union’s future, photography exhibitions, arts and crafts demonstrations
    and dance performances by members of the Greek ethnic community. The head of
    the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker is also expected to travel to
    Bucharest, at a time when Romania celebrates its ten-year EU membership. He
    will address Parliament on Thursday and meet Romanian citizens.




    Austria trip. The Romanian prime minister Sorin Grindeanu is today
    having talks with the Austrian chancellor Christian Kern in Vienna. The two
    also met in March at a meeting of the Party of European Socialists held in
    Brussels. Also today, Sorin Grindeanu will attend the opening of the
    Romanian-Austrian business forum and will have talks with representatives of
    Austrian companies. Austria is one of Romania’s biggest economic and trade
    partners and its second largest in terms of foreign investment. Trade exchanges
    between the two countries stand at more than 1.8 billion euros. Grindeanu’s
    trip to Vienna will end with a meeting with the governor of the Lower Austria
    land, Johanna Mikl-Leitner.


    Vaccine shortage. The European Commission
    has approved a request by the Romanian health minister Florian Bodog to
    temporarily suspend intra-community exports of combined vaccines against
    measles, mumps and rubella. According to a ministry press release, the
    Commission viewed the measure as justified, given that Romania is facing a
    measles epidemic that broke out a year ago. There is a shortage of vaccines,
    especially in the west of the country, where the largest number of cases has
    been reported. 24 persons have died because of measles over the last year.




    Madrid Open. Romania has
    as many players in the Madrid Tennis Open as the host country Spain. In the
    second round, Romania’s highest ranked player Simona Halep, no. 8 in the world,
    will face world no. 34 Roberta Vinci of Italy, world no. 36 Irina Begu will
    face world no. 54 Johanna
    Larsson of Sweden, while world no. 83 Sorana Cirstea will face world no. 55 Catherine Bellis of the US. In the men’s tournament,
    Romania’s Marius Copil, who has just entered top 100 after defeating Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round, will have a difficult match against world no. 1 Andy Murray. Halep and Begu are also playing the doubles and will face the Japanese-polish pair Nao
    Hibino and Alicja Rosolska. The Romanian-American pair Monica Niculescu and Christina McHale will be facing
    fourth-seed pair Sania Mirza of
    India and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.

  • Childhood vaccination in Romania

    Childhood vaccination in Romania

    As more and more
    cases of measles have been reported in Romania, healthcare experts warn that
    compulsory immunisation schedules must be observed, saying vaccines save lives.
    Over 600 cases of measles have been registered and three infants have died
    since the beginning of the year, which prompted authorities to launch an
    epidemic alert last week.




    An immediate analysis
    of the national defence measures against this disease has been requested in
    this context. According to the reports initiated by the County Healthcare
    Directorates, a large number of children have not received the vaccine. Civil
    society was quick to respond, and the Ombudsman stepped in and asked the
    Healthcare Ministry to explain why the bill on compulsory immunisation has been
    stuck since April.




    Family doctors
    and healthcare officials blame parents who refuse to have vaccines given to
    their kids, although in Romania this is not required by law. The line ministry
    has announced a large-scale campaign would be launched to present the benefits
    of the measles vaccine and to reduce the number of children who have not had
    it. Here is dr. Gindrovel Dumitra, the coordinator of the vaccines task force
    of the National Society of Family Medicine:




    This is a
    warning, coming not only from us, family doctors, but also from the
    authorities, that certain infectious diseases, supposedly eliminated at
    present, might resurface. For the time being, smallpox is the only disease that
    has been eradicated, and polio has been eliminated. The World Health
    Organisation had set 2015 as the deadline by which both measles and rubella
    should have been eradicated in Europe, but as we can see, this has not
    happened. And we fail to reach these targets because of elements that we cannot
    foresee.




    Romania has one
    of the largest numbers of deaths among children under 5 in the European Union,
    according to data released by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation. Experts
    say vaccination is an efficient means to reduce child death rates. A
    vaccination bill, which is currently under review by the authorities, might
    regulate the field more strictly. For instance, all public and private providers
    of immunisation services will have to register with the National Electronic
    Vaccination Registry, which will provide the authorities with the centralised
    and up-to-date information they need in order to draw up relevant national
    strategies.

  • The effects of the measles epidemic

    The effects of the measles epidemic

    Romanian parents’ refusal to have their children immunized against measles and the irresponsible campaigns against immunizing infants have made the first victims, as shown by official data provided by the Romanian Health Ministry. Three infants have died and as many as 700 children have got measles in the first 8 months of 2016, unlike in 2015 when only 7 cases of measles were confirmed and no deaths were reported. So, Romania is facing a measles epidemic in spite of the fact that, over the past two years, no major problems have been reported in procuring the immunization vaccine.



    Laurenţiu Colintineanu, a spokesman for the Health Ministry has details: “The three victims killed by measles were infants, but there are many children one year of age and over, who are not immunized and consequently get measles, thus becoming a threat for infants. Practically, the three infants died before reaching the proper age for immunization against measles, and this is really worrying.”



    In a community that has all the means and conditions for immunization, all infants should benefit from the so-called group protection effect. The three dead infants could have been protected from measles if the older children had been immunized at the adequate age. Measles is a highly contagious infection that mainly affects children. How can it be prevented? Exclusively through immunization.



    Recent studies show that Romania has reported the biggest drop in the general immunization rate, and the Health Ministry is set to carry on with the information campaign for the population meant to show the benefits of immunization. The Health Ministry spokesman: “Information campaigns for the population are indeed essential and the Health Ministry intends to start, as soon as possible, an information campaign about the benefits of vaccination against measles, given that children’s health is a priority”.



    The Health Ministry has called on parents to respect the combined immunization schedule against measles, mumps and rubella. In the affected areas, the National Public Health Institute recommends immunization of infants at 7 months of age, with vaccination being repeated at 1 year of age. Most cases of measles have been reported in the center and west of Romania.



    (Translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • September 22, 2016 UPDATE

    September 22, 2016 UPDATE

    CORRUPTION – Ioana Basescu, the eldest daughter of former Romanian President, Traian Basescu, is subject to legal restrictions, pending trial, being investigated for incitement to abuse of office and money laundering. Also, the former development minister in the Boc cabinet, MP Elena Udrea is subject to legal restrictions in a new case, on financing the electoral campaign for the 2009 presidential election, won by Traian Basescu. Judicial sources say Elena Udrea and Ioana Basescu are also allegedly involved in the file of former state secretary with the Development Ministry, Gheorghe Nastasia. Nastasias lawyer confirmed that the former state secretary is prosecuted by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate for bribe taking.



    UN – Romania steps up efforts to meet global challenges like poverty, climate change, terrorism and conflicts, in the spirit of international solidarity and joint responsibility, the PM of Romania, Dacian Ciolos, said in his address at the UN General Assembly session in New York. He added that at present Romania holds the presidency of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation, while Romanian military and police troops take part in peacekeeping missions. Romania will continue to earmark substantial political, diplomatic, financial and human resources to maintaining regional and global stability, the head of the Romanian government also said. On Thursday, PM Ciolos held talks with the Secretary General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and with American business people who invest in Romania. He also had meetings with members of the Romanian community in New York. On Tuesday, PM Dacian Ciolos discussed with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, the prospects for lifting visa requirements for Romanian citizens, and attended the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants.



    MIGRATION – At the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants in New York Romania did not make any relocation commitments in addition to the decision made at EU level, the Romanian Foreign Ministry says in a news release. The Ministry mentions that Romania takes part in the common European effort in this respect, by means of “implementing internal relocation decisions made in 2015 and of voluntarily participating in the foreign relocation process.



    ANTI-FRAUD – The head of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Giovanni Kessler, hailed in Bucharest the efforts of Romanian authorities to curb fraud. He added that the Anti-Fraud Department in Romania is the Europeans main partner and a success model for Romanias anti-fraud strategy aimed at building a better, corruption-free society. At the Albiţa checkpoint in eastern Romania Kessler had a meeting with officials of customs authorities in Romania, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. The main topic was cross-border cooperation, with a view to preventing and fighting illegal trafficking on the EU external borders.



    DEFENSE – On September 28 Romania will receive the first six F-16 planes from Portugal, the Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc has announced. He made this statement after a meeting with the ambassador of Portugal to Bucharest, João-Bernardo Weinstein, whom he thanked for the contribution of the Portuguese Air Forces to training the pilots and other personnel who will operate the aircraft. Romania has purchased from Portugal a total of 12 upgraded F-16 planes, compatible with the models used by the other NATO member states. The contract, signed 3 years ago, cost the Romanian Army some 630 million euro.



    MEASLES EPIDEMIC – Romania is currently facing a measles epidemics. According to the Healthcare Ministry, three infants have died and nearly 700 got sick in the first 8 months of the year, as opposed to seven confirmed cases and no deaths last year. The Ministry intends to run an awareness raising campaign regarding the benefits of immunisation.



    REP. OF MOLDOVA – Anti-corruption prosecutors in the Republic of Moldova have taken 15 judges and 3 court enforcement officers, involved in a huge money-laundering scandal. The mass media in Chisinau, quoted by Radio Romania correspondents, say they were reportedly involved in the laundering of a rough 18 billion USD coming from the Russian Federation. If proven guilty, the suspects risk spending 5 to 10 years behind bars. (Translated by D. Vijeu)