In Argentina, all people from one year of age must have a complete vaccination schedule against measles and rubella, according to the National Vaccination Calendar.
A study carried out by Italian researchers from the University of Milan and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) discovered a new variant of the measles virus which produces false negatives and makes traditional tests ineffective in these cases.
Since January 2024, five cases of measles have been confirmed with the new variant in the area that includes the metropolitan city of Milan and its surroundings in Lombardy, Télam agency reported, citing Ansa.
All cases They are classified as genotype D8 and “sporadic”, since it did not find a clear epidemiological link between them.
This was reported in a study carried out by researchers from the State University of Milan and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, published in Eurosurveillance.
In three of the five cases identified, “recent travel history was reported, destinations included Uzbekistan, Thailand and southern Italy. “In particular, two of these cases, each with a history of travel to southern Italy or Thailand, were infected with strains of MeV (measles virus) characterized by the three mismatches described by Pérez-Rodríguez.”
“Our results suggest that MeV with specific mutations detected by Swiss molecular surveillance is already circulating in Italy”the researchers noted.
They added that they can “be detected with reduced sensitivity by many currently used diagnostic tests.”
“This highlights the importance of rapidly updating diagnostic tests to detect all MeV strains currently in circulation,” they concluded.
At the end of January, The WHO warned that Europe is experiencing an “alarming increase” in measles cases.
“The increase in cases has accelerated in recent months, and the upward trend is expected to continue if urgent measures are not taken to prevent further spread,” they said.
More cases, less vaccination
The organization confirmed that in 2023 there were 42,200 cases of measles in 41 European member countries, which which represents a significant increase compared to the 941 cases reported in all of 2022.
For the WHO, The resurgence of measles is largely due to a decline in vaccination coverage, given that in European countries more than 1.8 million babies did not receive their vaccine between 2020 and 2022.
The health emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic and misinformation about the safety of vaccines are the main causes of the decrease in vaccination coverage worldwide, according to the WHO.
Argentina interrupted the endemic circulation of measles in 2000. Since then, outbreaks lasting less than a year have been recorded, without loss of elimination status, according to a recent report from the National Ministry of Health.
The largest outbreak was recorded between epidemiological weeks (EW) 35 of 2019 and EW 12 of 2020, with a total of 179 cases, which were limited to the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and 19 municipalities in the province of Buenos Aires. .
Measles vaccines are safe and effective at preventing the disease, having prevented 56 million deaths between 2000 and 2021. In Argentina, all people from one year of age must have a complete vaccination schedule against measles and rubella, according to National Vaccination Calendar.
The measles It is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. Because it is airborne, it spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes.
It can cause serious illness, complications, and even death. The disease can affect anyone, but is more common in children. Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and rash all over the body. (DIB) ACR
2024-02-18 19:30:31
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