Given the decrease in childhood vaccination coverage against measles and the possibility of outbreaks, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert urging the countries of the Americas to update their response plans to prevent the reestablishment of endemic transmission of this virus.
“Vaccination and epidemiological surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases are essential health services and should not be interrupted,” says PAHO.
vaccination against measles and rubella | Photo: Ministry of Health Bogotá/WEB
According to the Organization’s Vaccine Technical Advisory Group (GTA), “the risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the region is at its highest point in the last 30 years. According to PAHO estimates for 2021, more than 1.7 million boys and girls in 28 countries and territories of the Americas did not receive the first dose of the measles vaccine on their first birthday.
Measles is a highly contagious and serious disease caused by a virus, for which there are safe and effective vaccines. It is estimated that between 2000 and 2018 the measles vaccine prevented 23.2 million deaths worldwide.
Since then, confirmed cases have decreased and in 2022, due to social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only six countries in the region reported imported measles cases: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, the United States, and Paraguay. .
Confirmed cases decreased and in 2022, due to social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only six countries in the region reported imported measles cases: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, the United States, and Paraguay. | Photo: Getty Images
PAHO also recommends that parents, guardians or caregivers apply the two doses of the measles, rubella and mumps vaccine to their children to protect them and prevent the presence of outbreaks and serious complications, such as pneumonia, which can lead to babies and young children to death.
Worldwide, it remains one of the leading causes of death in young children, despite the existence of a safe and effective vaccine to prevent it. There is no specific antiviral treatment against the measles virus. Severe cases are especially common in malnourished young children, especially those with weakened immune systems. In populations with high levels of malnutrition and lack of adequate health care, measles can kill up to 10% of cases. It is transmitted through air droplets from the nose, mouth, or throat of an infected person. The virus present in the air or on surfaces remains active and contagious for 2 hours. Symptoms are usually high fever, runny nose, cough, watery, red eyes, small white spots on the inside of the cheeks, and a generalized rash all over. the body. Before mass vaccination began in 1980, measles killed 2.6 million people a year worldwide, 12,000 of them in the Americas. Between 1970 and 1979, Latin American countries reported some 220,000 measles cases each year. In 35 years, there has been a 95% reduction in cases, from 4.5 million cases in 1980 to approximately 244,700 cases in 2015.
Symptoms are usually high fever, runny nose, cough, watery and red eyes, small white spots on the inside of the cheeks, and a generalized rash all over the body. | Photo: Getty Images
Clinical manifestations
PAHO notes that the first sign of measles is usually a high fever, which begins 10-12 days after exposure to the virus and lasts 4-7 days. In the initial phase, the patient may present with a runny nose, cough, watery and red eyes, and small white spots on the inside of the cheeks.
After about three days, a rash appears, generally on the face and upper neck, which spreads, eventually affecting the hands and feet.
The rash lasts 5 to 6 days, then fades. The interval between exposure to the virus and the appearance of the rash ranges from 7 to 18 days (mean 14 days).
Most deaths are due to complications of measles, which are most common in children under 5 years of age and adults over 30 years of age.
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2023-09-02 09:23:29
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