The Director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic, Vera Berisha-Ndrejaj, has raised the alarm that a child has ended up in intensive care because he was not vaccinated against measles, as his parents were influenced by misinformation about the vaccine.
She indicated that the parents of seven other hospitalized children, but with milder symptoms, also justified not vaccinating, saying they were afraid of various disorders.
"Of the cases that were treated at the Infectious Diseases Clinic, one of them had serious complications and was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The other cases were treated at our clinic. Today, one child was released in good condition, while six other cases continue to be treated," said Berisha-Ndrejaj.
Director Berisha-Ndrejaj announced that all those affected by measles are children born in 2025.
She said that samples from three other children were sent on Tuesday to confirm whether they were also affected by this infectious disease, and did not rule out the possibility that the number of those affected could increase.
"Given the incubation period, it is possible that we will have other cases. In the last two or three days we have not had any new cases, but this does not mean that there will not be any in the future. All of this will depend on the source of infection, because if children come from different communities, such as kindergartens, where they stay in closed environments, then we can expect other cases," she said.
There are global campaigns against child vaccination, which have also had an impact in Kosovo.
Sociologist Genc Xërca said that parents' reluctance to comply with the vaccination obligation is a consequence of the development of information technology, which, along with the democratization of information, has also increased misinformation.
"As we have seen during the pandemic, there has been a group of anti-vaccinators who have largely promoted different personal experiences. In a way, this makes others hesitant to change their attitudes and views towards vaccination, which in the past has not been a problem at all. So, such groups and such examples on social networks influence the approach and attitude towards vaccination to change," said Xërxa. /Koha
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