Deaths a reminder of deadly nature of measles

I REFER to the report “Mystery solved: It is measles” (The Star, June 18). The Health Ministry’s revelation that the recent deaths of the Bateq Orang Asli in Kuala Koh, Kelantan are due to measles should alert all Malaysians to the potentially deadly nature of this viral infection primarily due to respiratory complications.

In my experience as a medical officer in a rural area on the east coast of Sabah, serving mainly Bajau people and Suluk refugees in the mid-1980s, measles was common among children and many were admitted to my district hospital with bronchopneumonia (the most common type of pneumonia, and leading cause of death from infection, in children aged under five years), secondary to the measles infection with skin rash.