MALAPPURAM: Two children have died of measles in Malappuram within a week, with a one-and-a-half-year-old boy succumbing to the disease on Wednesday. The latest death comes days after a 10-month-old boy from Valavannur died on September 15.
Measles has so far been confirmed in 103 people in the district, with cases reported mainly from Valavannur, Kuttippuram, Vengara and Pookkottur. The outbreak has prompted the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights to intervene, seeking reports from the district medical officer and district child protection officer and directing authorities to identify children who may have been left out of the measles vaccination programme.
The intervention comes even as the district continues to struggle with low coverage of the two-dose MR (measles and rubella) vaccination. The health department data show that nearly one-third of children have not received both doses of the vaccine during each of the past three years.
The vaccine is given in two distinct doses to protect children from measles and rubella.
The district has also failed to achieve the health department’s target of 95% vaccination coverage. While 91% of eligible children received the first dose in 2021-22, only 79% received the second dose. Second-dose coverage subsequently stood at 81% in 2022-23, 63% in 2023-24, 61% in 2024-25 and 63% in 2025-26.
More than 40% of children in Vengara, Tanur, Malappuram and Areekode block panchayat areas have not received both the doses. Vengara has recorded particularly low coverage, with only 52% of children receiving the complete course.
Health officials said incomplete vaccination leaves children more vulnerable to severe measles infection and that awareness campaigns have been intensified among parents and communities. “The health department has started awareness programmes among parents and communities about the dangers of the disease and how vaccination helps to prevent it,” said an official.
Two-dose vaccine
The measles-rubella (MR) vaccine is given in two distinct doses
First dose is administered at nine months to 12 months of age
Second dose is given at 16 to 24 months of age dosage overview