Podgorica, (MINA) – The first case of measles was registered in Montenegro on Thursday, the Public Health Institute (IJZ) stated, adding that the infected individual is an eight-year-old unvaccinated child.

IJZ stated that they have undertaken all necessary activities to prevent further spread of the disease, while the competent institutions are carefully monitoring the epidemic situation.

According to the press release from this health institution, this phenomenon comes in the context of the current epidemiological situation in neighboring countries where measles outbreaks have been registered, with over 4600 patients and at least six deaths, four of which among the children under one year of age.

They recall that the MMR vaccination coverage amounts to 46.9 percent for children born in 2021, and 20 percent for children born in 2022.

“Given that it is necessary to have at least 95 percent coverage of the target population to prevent an outbreak, it is clear that there is a significant risk of more widespread disease”, IJZ warns.