Measles: progress in the region is worrying, with 787 cases confirmed in one month



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The best prevention is to update the vaccination schedule Source: LA NACION – Credit: Ricardo Pristupluk

Epidemics of this fast-spreading disease are still concentrated in 11 countries, of which l? Argentina; Venezuela records 65% of infections, according to OPS

In just over a month, 787 new cases of measles have been confirmed in the region, and hundreds of infections are still to study in 11 countries, including Argentina, to establish whether this is the disease. Data is starting to raise concerns about countries' ability to monitor and respond quickly to contain epidemics and monitor migration.

According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the number of people affected from Canada to Argentina increased 46.7% in six weeks (from 1685 to 2472). The majority are Venezuelans and Brazilians.

hence the recommendation of the OPS to the health authorities of member countries to "provide a prompt response" to imported cases so that endemic transmission in countries is not reestablished. It is also advisable to monitor the arrival of foreigners, in addition to the internal displacement of population groups. This is to guarantee them access to vaccination.

It is for the population to be protected against this highly contagious viral infection (an infected person can spread the virus when she coughs or sneezes) The OPS remembers the optimal level of coverage first and second doses of the triple viral vaccine (the recommended regimen per year and school admission) must reach 95% of the population in all jurisdictions.

"Data show that since the epidemiological update of June 8 In the past, when 1685 cases were reported, the number of new infections increased by more than 45%, with 787 more cases than in the report previous year, more than 92% of all people affected, as well as the vast majority of new cases.These cases were recorded in Brazil and Venezuela, "said the US subsidiary of the World Health Organization in a Press release.

Records indicate that Venezuela and Brazil have accumulated more than 90% of cases in the region (see separately), followed by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with 115 confirmed cases, in addition to Colombia with 40 cases and Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda, meanwhile, the executive committee of PAHO, which met in Washington last month, issued recommendations for Venezuela, where epidemics of various infectious diseases are spreading rapidly and a large migratory flow begins. to other countries. Among these suggestions, it is "urgent to develop and implement a plan of action to stop the transmission of measles and diphtheria."

On alert

In our country last week, the Ministry of Health of the Nation issued an alert with new recommendations for health teams. In addition, the statement included information on a new case. It is a 10-month-old baby from the province of Buenos Aires who is the sixth confirmed in the country since last March. And it's the fourth in children under one year old, at which age the first dose of the triple viral vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) is recommended, according to the National Immunization Schedule.

The first, in March, was an 8-month-old baby who, according to information from the health authorities of Buenos Aires, was infected in the waiting room of a private sanatorium in the city of Buenos Aires Aires. There, he met an infected 21-year-old man, who had returned from a trip to Thailand. The characteristics of the virus that had made the child sick coincided with the genotype circulating in this Asian country.

The following month, a third case was confirmed in a 26-year-old woman who was returning with the symptoms of a trip to Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand This month, the other three were reported, all in children under one year old: a five-month-old boy and a six-month-old boy who accepted to the pediatric hospital Pedro de Elizalde.

During the epidemiological investigation of contagion, the Buenos Aires Department of Health detected that another 10-month-old baby with symptoms had been treated in the jurisdiction last month.

The updated report of the OPS records five cases for Argentina. "It is important to remember that measles is very contagious, it is contagious four days before and four days after the onset of eruption.So, when a family consults a hospital or health center, mechanisms must be put in place so that they do not have long waits in a guard, but that they can be quickly labeled, masked and put on Ángela Gentile, head of the National Commission for the Elimination of Measles, Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome, wrote in writing

The Committee of Specialists who convened the portfolio The National Department of Health advised last week to strengthen epidemiological surveillance, intensify vaccination actions, establish a mechanism for rapid classification (patients with suspicious symptoms) in wardens of hospitals and private health centers s of the city and province of Buenos Aires, and maintain the start of the campaign to strengthen immunization against measles and rubella for next October

Eleven countries where viral infection is circulating

Venezuela leads the continental countries most affected by measles

1. Venezuela: 1613

2. Brazil: 677

3. United States: 91

4. Colombia: 40

5. Canada: 19

6. Ecuador: 17

7. Argentina: 6

8. Mexico: 5

9. Peru: 3

10. Guatemala: 1

11. Antigua and Barbuda: 1

Main symptoms to watch for

Highly Infectious

Among the acute and communicable viral diseases, measles is among the most contagious

Main symptoms

Special attention should be paid to the onset of fever, conjunctivitis, cough and generalized rash

Transmission

Contagion occurs from person to person

Fever and rash

If a person suffers of a temperature above 38 ° C and a rash, consult a doctor

Prevention

Measles is a disease that can be prevented by vaccination

Who should to be vaccinated?

  • From 12 months to 4 years: they must accredit a dose of triple viral vaccine (measles-rubella-mumps)
  • more than 5-6 years: they must accredit two doses of double or triple viral vaccine after the first year of life
  • People born before 1965 do not need to be vaccinated because they are considered immune

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