2 Children Die Of Suspected Measles, 17 Infected In Madhya Pradesh's Maihar

Two children have died of suspected measles, and 17 have been infected in Madhya Pradesh's Maihar, prompting district authorities to shut down all schools in the eight villages for three days, a health official said.

A medical team has been deployed to prevent the further spread, the official said.

"Two children, one of them seven years old, died of suspected measles on February 14 and 16. Another 17 were found to be infected in eight villages," the chief medical and health officer (CMHO) LK Tiwari said. Of those infected, seven have been hospitalised, he said.

Based on a report, the collector has ordered the closure of all government and private schools in the eight affected villages for three days starting today and sought a survey of the habitations in the five-km radius of these villages, the official said.

The collector has also banned gatherings of children at any function in the affected areas, he said.

Samples have been collected from the infected and sent to All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhopal for examination, he said.

A team from the World Health Organisation is also expected to visit the affected villages today, the official said.

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