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Mexican health authorities have confirmed a case of measles in a British woman arrived on the Caribbean tourist coast of the country a week ago, authorities said Saturday.
The 50-year-old woman arrived Monday at the Cancun airport with a final destination, Playa del Carmen, the second-most-visited resort in the region.
"After showing signs and symptoms of illness, she sought medical attention in a private hospital, where they were recognized as a probable case of measles," said the Ministry of Health in a statement.
The patient's relatives – a 33-year-old man, a 29-year-old woman, a 14-year-old boy, and a seven-year-old girl – currently had no symptoms, he added.
The woman was transferred Tuesday to a hospital run by the Ministry of Health, which activated the epidemiological protocols, took samples for badysis and identified the woman's contacts.
State health authorities in Quintana Roo and the federal government are taking steps "to prevent contagion and to detect secondary cases", especially among children and adolescents, the ministry said.
Measles is one of the leading causes of death in children, according to the World Health Organization. The last measles outbreak in Mexico occurred between 1989 and 90, with 89,163 cases reported.
The last indigenous case was recorded in 1995, although 185 imported or related cases were identified between 2000 and 2019, the ministry said.
The current case occurred in a context of global resurgence of the disease, due in large part to an anti-vaccination movement that appeared in recent years.
According to the WHO, measles cases worldwide have quadrupled in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.
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