WHO warns of increase in measles cases and reinforces vaccination

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned of the increase in measles cases around the world and reinforced the importance of vaccination to prevent the spread of the disease.

“Measles cases are increasing. It is one of the most communicable diseases. If a person becomes infected, almost everyone around them will catch the virus, if they are not vaccinated. To protect your child, ensure that their vaccinations are up to date,” he said in a statement.

In recent weeks, countries such as Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom and Portugal have issued alerts after confirming cases, with the death of a 19-month-old child in the province of Salta, Argentina.

In Brazil, the Rio Grande do Sul Health Surveillance Center issued an alert after confirming an imported case of measles in the state. The patient is a 3-year-old boy who arrived in the city of Rio Grande on December 27th, from Pakistan, a country with endemic circulation of the disease.

In view of the confirmation, the Health Department of Rio Grande do Sul reinforced, in a note, the recommendation to apply the triple viral vaccine (measles, rubella and mumps), offered free of charge by the Unified Health System (SUS) for children aged 1 and over. year and up to 59 years of age, according to the national vaccination calendar.

“With the suspicion, a selective vaccination block was carried out on family members, neighbors and health professionals. The child is doing well and his family members have not shown any symptoms. The municipality continues to monitor visits for fever, rash and cough or runny nose or conjunctivitis, without any identification of a suspected case.”

The complete measles vaccination schedule consists of two doses up to age 29, or one dose for adults aged 30 to 59. In children, vaccination should occur at 12 and 15 months. Healthcare professionals must receive two doses, regardless of age. In situations of vaccine blockade, selective immunization is recommended for everyone over 6 months of age.

The disease

Measles is an acute, viral infectious disease, especially serious in children under 5 years of age, immunocompromised and malnourished and extremely contagious, which infects nine out of every 10 susceptible people after exposure to the virus.

The disease is transmitted directly, through secretions, when coughing, sneezing or talking. Suspected cases must remain in respiratory isolation and use a surgical mask from the moment of screening in health services.

Elimination

To Agência Brasil, the vice-president of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm), Renato Kfouri, recalled that measles was a controlled disease in Brazil until 2016, when the country received certification of elimination of the virus in the national territory. After a major outbreak of the disease in 2017 and 2018, with more than 40 thousand registered cases, Brazil lost its certification and returned to being an endemic country, where measles circulates freely.

“We have not registered any cases since June 2022, seeking recertification of this elimination. We still need to improve our vaccination coverage and some surveillance indicators. We have already received status not as an endemic country, but as a country pending recertification by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in November 2023,”

said Renato.

According to Kfouri, what causes concern is the recent increase in the number of cases of the disease in several countries. When commenting on the case of the child from Pakistan, the specialist assessed that the Rio Grande do Sul government’s warning is valid.

“It is an imported case, obviously not acquired here in our territory, but it brings us this warning. First, the importance of surveillance, of being attentive to any suspected, imported case, so that the entry of a case here does not multiply and do not become other secondary cases, a chain of transmission and a new outbreak”, explained the deputy. president, highlighting that surveillance of suspected cases and timely investigation are important.

“And, of course, vaccination of contacts of these suspected individuals and our high vaccination coverage so that, even with this frequent and possible entry of people with measles into the country, this does not translate into new outbreaks here among us”, concluded Renato.

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