Expert: Iranian province bordering Afghanistan faces risk of measles outbreak

An Iranian health expert warns that the country’s northeastern Khorasan Razavi, which borders Afghanistan, is facing the risk of a measles outbreak amid a rise in the cases of the highly-contagious disease in the neighboring country.

Dr. Zahra Nahbandian, head of the Department of Contagious Diseases at Mashhad’s University of Medical Sciences, said there had been a noticeable rise in cases of measles in Afghanistan, putting Iran’s Khorsan Razavi at risk.

“Regardless of their nationalities, all those with children under the age of five, who have delayed the vaccination of their kids due to the coronavirus spread, should make sure to go for measles inoculation,” she added.

Measles is generally a childhood infection caused by a virus. Also called rubeola, measles can be serious and even fatal for small children, but the disease can almost always be prevented with a vaccine. It causes high fever, a red rash, cough and red eyes. It can have serious complications such as encephalitis, which itself can cause hearing loss.

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