Lithuania's DefMin mulls additional troop vaccination against measles

  • 2019-04-15
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – Lithuania's Ministry of National Defense is considering additional immunization of troops against measles as the number of measles cases is rising, Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis says.

In his words, the ministry is considering, first of all, vaccinating troops facing the highest risk of contraction.

"We are now looking into all options and risks. We are probably heading towards vaccinating troops with the highest risk here in Lithuania," the minister told BNS Lithuania.

The Lithuanian army now has almost 10,200 professional troops, more than 3,600 conscripts and over 5,000 volunteer troops.

Troops taking part in international operations are mandatorily vaccinated against all diseases dominating in a mission area.

Figures from the Center for Communicable Diseases and AIDS show 462 people contracted measles in Lithuania this year, compared to 30 last year.