Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng unveiled plans to introduce a second dose of measles immunisation for children aged 18 to 23 months during a launch ceremony in Siem Reap town yesterday.

The vaccine is intended to follow the one children currently are to receive at nine months of age and will provide a higher degree of protection, Sann Chan Soeung, National Immunisation Program director, said yesterday.

The ministry will make the vaccine available at health centres countrywide and conduct an outreach campaign aimed at parents of newborns, he added.

The disease, which disproportionately affects high-risk populations such as the urban poor, places a “significant burden” on the nation’s health system, World Health Organization technical officer Richard Duncan said yesterday, but it is entirely preventable.

Outbreaks occurred in 2010 and 2011, but following campaigns to combat the disease, there have been no reported cases since November, putting Cambodia on track to meet its goal of eliminating measles by year’s end, Duncan added.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thik Kaliyann at [email protected]