Mongolia launches nationwide vaccination to tackle serious m

ULAN BATOR, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Thursday to combat a serious measles outbreak, targeting 18-30-year olds.

According to the Mongolian Health Ministry, as of May 6, a total of 19,194 measles cases were recorded nationwide and 59 infants died of measles infection.

The ministry said most of the infected were students and infants.

United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) provided the current batch of measles vaccines for around 624,000 young people in Mongolia.

Vaccination centers have been set up in universities, colleges and family clinics in the country.

The Mongolian government hopes the campaign, which will last until May 25, would contain the outbreak and reduce infection cases.

The current measles outbreak started earlier this year, and spread to all provinces and cities of Mongolia. Kids have been prevented from going to kindergartens and schools in some badly-hit regions. The capital city of Ulan Bator is most seriously hit.

Two years ago, the Mongolian government claimed that measles had been eliminated in the land-locked country.

The public and non-governmental organizations have criticized Mongolian health institutions for not being fully prepared for the current outbreak.