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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2015 | Volume
: 7
| Issue : 2 | Page : 67 |
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Gangrenous periorbital cellulitis in Nigerian children with postmeasles malnutrition
Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi
Department of Paediatrics, Al-Kindy College of Medicine, Baghdad University, Baghdad, Iraq
| Date of Web Publication | 12-Nov-2015 |
Correspondence Address:
Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi
P.O. Box 55302, Baghdad Post Office, Baghdad
Iraq
 DOI: 10.4103/1858-540X.169441 
How to cite this article:
Al-Mendalawi MD. Gangrenous periorbital cellulitis in Nigerian children with postmeasles malnutrition. Sudanese J Ophthalmol 2015;7:67 |
How to cite this URL:
Al-Mendalawi MD. Gangrenous periorbital cellulitis in Nigerian children with postmeasles malnutrition. Sudanese J Ophthalmol [serial online] 2015 [cited 2021 Jun 19];7:67. Available from: https://www.sjopthal.net/text.asp?2015/7/2/67/169441 |
Sir,
I read with interest the case series by Aliyu on the gangrenous periorbital cellulitis in Nigerian children with postmeasles malnutrition. [1] The author stressed that the efforts should be geared toward measles immunization as an effective means to prevent devastating measles-related ophthalmic sequelae. I presume that there is another means needs to be considered by Aliyu [1] to achieve that objective. It is obvious that there is a close synergism between measles and Vitamin A deficiency that can result in xerophthalmia with corneal ulceration, keratomalacia, and subsequent corneal scarring or phthisis bulbi. [2] Despite Nigeria has conducted two nationwide measles immunization campaigns during 2005-2006 and 2008, measles cases are continued to occur due to suboptimal immunization coverage and the wide interval between the catch-up and follow-up campaigns. [3] It has been noticed that measles vaccine and Vitamin A treatment are effective interventions to prevent measles mortality and morbidity, including ophthalmic complications in children. [4] As employed in many parts of the world, Vitamin A supplementation needs to be incorporated with measles vaccine in childhood immunization program in Nigeria as an effective means to enhance the immunogenicity of measles vaccine on the one hand and lessen the risk of measles-associated ophthalmic sequelae on the other hand. Ultimately, this will contribute to the control of blindness in children and implementing the global initiative known as VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, launched by the World Health Organization and International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, and targeted to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. [5]
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Aliyu I. Gangrenous peri-orbital cellulitis in Nigerian children with post-measles malnutrition. Sudanese J Ophthalmol 2015;7:22-4.   |
| 2. | Semba RD, Bloem MW. Measles blindness. Surv Ophthalmol 2004;49:243-55. |
| 3. | Weldegebriel GG, Gasasira A, Harvey P, Masresha B, Goodson JL, Pate MA, et al. Measles resurgence following a nationwide measles vaccination campaign in Nigeria, 2005-2008. J Infect Dis 2011;204:S226-31. |
| 4. | Sudfeld CR, Navar AM, Halsey NA. Effectiveness of measles vaccination and vitamin A treatment. Int J Epidemiol 2010;39:i48-55. |
| 5. | |
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