16 y.o. teenager in Arad dies from complications caused by measles

A 16 year-old boy in Arad has died on Thursday in hospital due to complications caused by measles, given that the teenager suffered from a congenital condition and had not been vaccinated. This is is the third death recorded in the county during the outbreak of measles, news.ro informs, quoted by hotnews.ro.

On Thursday, all beds in the Department of Infectious Diseases for Children with the County Hospital were occupied by people sick of measles.

The boy, who is from the village of Covasint, was brought by the family to the Arad County Emergency Hospital (SCJU) Sunday night, after being infected with measles by his cousins, but doctors say that evolution has been worsening.

The patient suffered a respiratory arrest and was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where he has died Thursday morning. The Head of the Paediatrics Department with SCJU Arad, Dorin Lazar, who took over the case, told News.ro that the boy suffered from a congenital disease which has affected his somatic and psychic development.

“It’s a disease that affected the whole structure of the body, all organs and the brain, and given this background the measles caused pulmonary complications of bronchopneumonia. He died at the ICU after a cardiac arrest,” Dr. Dorin Lazar said, noting that the boy had not been vaccinated against measles.

The head of the Arad Public Health Directorate, Constantin Catana, added that serological samples will be sent to the Cantacuzino Institute to confirm measles, as the cause of death will be determined after a forensic examination.

This is the third death from measles recorded in Arad, where epidemic is declared. Since the beginning of the year about 140 cases have been recorded, and the first two victims were an eight-month boy and a nine-month girl, who were not vaccinated.

Another 33 cases of measles were recorded nationwide during the week of October 8-14, the Ministry of Health announced last week. Thus, the total number of measles cases has reached 786.

In a press statement released in September, the Health Ministry was informing that 675 confirmed cases of measles were reported in the first eight months of 2016 in 23 counties that left two children dead. A third death where measles was the suspected cause was recorded in early September.