An outbreak of measles attacks northern Brazil

A measles epidemic attacks the states of Amazonas and Roraima, in northern Brazil, a country that has been certified in 2016 to eradicate the virus, the Ministry of Health reported on Monday.

As of June 20, 463 cases (200 in Roraima and 263 in Amazonas) have been confirmed, said the Ministry of Health in a bulletin, while another 1,545 are still under investigation.

The only two measles deaths recorded so far this year were recorded in Roraima, a state bordering Venezuela and the main beneficiary of the increasing flow of migrants from that country. According to laboratory studies, the strain of the virus found in Brazil is the same in circulation in Venezuela, a country experiencing a severe political and economic crisis with a severe shortage of manpower. food, basic products and medicines.

Nearly 50,000 Venezuelans crossed the land border and sought to legalize their situation in Brazil for the past three years, most of them in Roraima. With the reappearance of the virus, the state set up a vaccination post at the border as well as mbadive immunization operations for migrants who, until the beginning of the year, were sleeping mostly in squares, streets and makeshift shelters.

Measles is a contagious, respiratory disease caused by a virus. Red spots on the skin, fever, cough and conjunctivitis are some of the symptoms.

Vaccination in Brazil is permanent and not stationary.

On the other hand, the human rights organization Survival International reported this weekend that measles was also attacking indigenous Yanomami populations on the border between Brazil and Venezuela .

According to the information of the organization, at least 23 natives consulted a doctor for the disease on Brazilian territory.

Survival International director Stephen Corry warned in a statement that "these communities are the most vulnerable, urgent medical help is the only thing separating them from the devastation."