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OPS reported that Venezuela had closed 2017 with 727 cases of measles | Photo: Repository
Caracas .- Measles has a year of expansion in Venezuela. During the first week of July 2017, the first cases of the disease began to be reported in the state of Bolívar, after ten years of the last epidemic. The resurgence of the virus has not only shown the weaknesses of local health authorities of the entity to ensure epidemiological surveillance; but, in addition, the steady increase in people infected in recent months has revealed failures of the Ministry of Health to comply with vaccination coverage against viral infection, as recently recognized Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) [19659005] The latest information, published by the OPS with data that the Ministry of Health does not yet disclose in the country, indicates that Venezuela has notified the There were 2,285 cases between July 2017 and June 2018: an increase of 114% only one year. The country only recognizes 35 deaths due to the disease since the reoccurrence of the epidemic, including 33 in Delta Amacuro, the entity that registered the most cases; although informally, it is estimated that about 120 people died. So far, 233 confirmed cases with the virus have been exported to Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador since last February.
Read also: The worsening of the migratory crisis in Venezuela causes the resumption of measles in Brazil
Measles due to the migratory flow of affected people to other areas of the territory has resulted in a setback for Venezuela: the country has lost the recognition that OPS gave in December 2016 when he declared it measles-free. "The endemic circulation of indigenous cases of the disease in our territory, for a period of more than a year, implies the loss of the recognition granted to our country, in December 2016, as a measles-free country, as well as than the loss of this recognition. to the American continent, "say the specialists of the Venezuelan Society of Public Health and the National Epidemiology Defense Network, in a warning issued on Friday.
Of the 11 American countries that have registered confirmed cases of measles, Venezuela concentrates 80% of cases.Since 2017, six countries in South America have reported infections with the virus and currently Venezuela accumulates 73% of those affected, including exported cases With 2,518 cases originating from the national territory, the country had the highest incidence of measles since 1994.
Within a year, the Ministry of Health did not report on the incidence of measles. evolution of the disease nor acknowledged the emergence of its spread that currently affects the populations of 22 states in the country.
OPS launched a rapid response plan in November last year , jointly with the Ministry of the Sa but has not produced results to prevent the spread. three months after the identification of the first cases. In May, the office launched the National Immunization Plan which also failed to reduce the transmission of the virus, which mainly affects children under 5 who, in theory, should have received two doses of vaccine. the vaccine that prevents measles.
Recently, PAHO published a document, during the development of the 162nd session of the Executive Committee, in which it asked Venezuela for urgent action to stop the progress of measles, as well as diphtheria, another epidemic who has resurfaced and is still active in the country. The Director of PAHO, Clarissa Etienne, during her visit to the country, also expressed her concern about the incidence of epidemics
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