Bahrain will not stop the immunisation of children against the viral diseases mumps, measles and rubella (MMR), says Health Ministry head of disease control Dr Muna Al Mousawi.

'We have decided to stop administering the booster dose of the vaccine to schoolchildren in Grade Seven from this year, since World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations say this booster dose is not necessary,' she said.

'However, the vaccine will still be given compulsorily in infancy to all children born in Bahrain.'

The booster dose of the MMR vaccine will now be replaced by the Hepatitis A vaccine that children in Grade seven will receive.

'We have acted on the recommendations of the WHO and have withdrawn the booster dose from our public health programme,' said Dr Al Mousawi.

She said hepatitis A is an acute, usually self-limiting disease of the liver caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV).

It is transmitted from person to person, primarily by the fecal-oral route.

Dr Al Mousawi said Bahrain was not one of the endemic regions for HAV, but an estimated 1.5 million clinical cases of HAV occur worldwide each year. TradeArabia News Service