Health authorities of Santa Fe and Rosario ask parents for responsibility. A recent case was detected in Salta. The baby did not have the triple viral infection
Given the confirmation of a case of measles in Salta, The Health authorities of Santa Fe and Rosario, in line with the Nation’s warning, asked the population to comply with the mandatory and free vaccination scheme for their children to avoid the return of this disease that has been eradicated in Argentina since year 2000.
In 2019, 123 cases had occurred in the country. It was the last major outbreak, stopped by the vaccine. In recent years, only a few isolated infections have occurred.
At the national level, coverage was falling (especially in a pandemic, which fell to 71%) and then it was around 80% when 95% is required to ensure that the disease does not spread.
After 24 years, the risk of massive infections occurring again increases, because in addition to the low coverage in neighboring countries and also in the United States and Europe, infections are increasing. The cause? People are vaccinating children less and less, which puts minors and also adults with a certain degree of vulnerability at risk, such as patients undergoing cancer treatment, transplant recipients or people with chronic diseases. In Argentina, in 2020, a 50-year-old woman died who had received a kidney transplant and unfortunately was infected with measles.
The patient who tested positive in Salta a few days ago is a 19-month-old boy who presented fever, exanthema (skin rash), cough and conjunctivitis. The symptoms began on January 2 and the diagnosis was confirmed last Friday.
At risk
The boy had several complications but is progressing well. It was confirmed that he had not received the triple viral vaccine, which protects against this and other diseases that can be serious.
Measles has a fatality rate that ranges from 3 to 6% and is especially dangerous in the malnourished population and babies under one year old.
The vaccine, which is the only effective measure to prevent measles, includes two doses of triple viral at 12 months and 5 years.
The vaccine is contraindicated for pregnant people, children under 6 months of age, transplant recipients or people with some type of immunosuppression.
Symptoms and urgent measures
In Rosario there have been several alerts in recent months about children who presented symptoms compatible with this disease but were ruled out by the laboratory.
Measles, which is highly transmissible, presents with high fever, red spots on the skin, runny nose, conjunctivitis and cough.
The incubation period is approximately 10 days. The fever usually appears first and then the skin rash.
The Ministry of Health of Santa Fe and the Epidemiology area of the Municipality of Rosario urged families to update the official vaccination card and especially to check if the children have the triple viral infection.
The decline in measles vaccination coverage is a global concern. In 2022, infections increased by 18% and deaths by 43%. 136 thousand people died in the world, mostly children. In 2023, measles cases continued to increase.
Now, at the beginning of the new year, the appearance of dozens of cases in neighboring countries and one in Argentina forces families to be asked to vaccinate their children since coverage has been falling in the country, to the point that during 2022 launched a campaign so that all children receive a booster dose.
Bells
As the placement of calendar vaccines had been decreasing and measles cases were increasing in neighboring countries quite alarmingly, in October 2022 a national and provincial campaign was launched for boys and girls from 13 months to 5 years old. An extra dose of MMR and Salk was applied for measles, mumps, rubella and polio.
And although many families were able to attend the vaccination centers, and Santa Fe was among the provinces with the best adherence to this campaign, the results were not as good as expected.
These days, immunization specialists are thinking about redoubling their efforts and launching a new campaign in 2024.
To sustain the achievements of measles elimination and avoid the reintroduction of the virus to the country, high vaccination coverage must be achieved and sustained with two doses of measles vaccine (double or triple viral) and a sensitive surveillance system capable of detecting suspect cases in a timely manner and thus prevent their spread.
The goal is for 95% of the corresponding population to be vaccinated.
Sprouts
The largest measles outbreak in the country was recorded in 2019 and 2020, with a total of 179 cases, which were limited to the City of Buenos Aires (CABA) and 19 municipalities in the province of Buenos Aires.
In 2021, no confirmed cases were recorded. In 2022, two cases of measles were recorded: one in CABA and another in Vicente López. The first corresponded to an imported case and the second was a case of unknown origin. Both unrelated to each other and without secondary cases.
This is the complete vaccination schedule according to the National Vaccination Calendar to minimize the risks of measles:
-From 12 months to 4 years: one dose of triple viral vaccine.
-Over 5 years of age, adolescents and adults born after 1965: they must prove at least two doses of vaccine with a measles component applied after one year of age (double or triple viral)
-People born before 1965 are considered immune and do not need to be vaccinated.
2024-01-23 23:00:00
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