Epidemiologist Alfonso Rosales estimates the possibility, due to the resurgence of the disease in America and the eventual pause in vaccination in countries of the region.
Given the alert for the increase in measles cases issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), the national epidemiologist Alfonso Rosales estimated that there is a possibility of registering cases in El Salvador.
“Measles is the most infectious virus that affects humans, it is easily compared to covid-19. It is difficult to say at what time it can occur, but there is the possibility of registering cases in El Salvador, “said Rosales.
This disease can cause pneumonia, permanent brain damage, deafness, premature births, low birth weight babies and death in patients; also, by weakening the immune system, it leaves the person vulnerable to other ills, including diarrhoea.
In addition, it is known that measles can infect approximately 9 out of 10 non-immunized people. Cases of infections in adults are few, but they exist.
It may interest you: Woman in San Miguel injured her newborn with scissors and strangled
“The cases have been increasing since 2019. The main affected are children under 5 years of age. It is known that countries in the region paused vaccination for measles during the pandemic; imagine that the same thing happened in El Salvador. That raises the risk,” Rosales emphasized.
In the last week of April, the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned of the increase in measles cases in the world.
These organizations pointed out that humanity is going through “a perfect storm” because the conditions have matured for the reappearance of vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles.
Between January and February of this year, 17,388 cases were reported; while in the same period of the previous year there were 9,665. Which means an increase of 79%, according to the world report of measles cases.
The pause in vaccination in the countries of the region worries both the WHO and Unicef, and they detail that it was due to interruptions in health services caused by covid-19, unequal access to vaccines and the diversion of resources from immunization.
It may interest you: The pro-government deputies “press the button without saying anything”, says Anabel Belloso about the first year of the current legislature
In days around April 23, health unit workers in El Salvador warned about shortages of vaccines in the public network. In the list they mentioned the vaccine against polio, influenza and the SPR or triple viral (measles, mumps and rubella).
“Making estimates for El Salvador is difficult, you would have to have information from the Ministry of Health, and they don’t provide it,” Rosales lamented.
As of today, the five countries with the largest measles outbreaks since last year include Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
In the Americas, the most recent data (2020) reported that six countries reported confirmed cases: Argentina (45 cases, including one death), Brazil (338 cases, including one death); Canada (one case), Chile (two cases), the United States (five cases) and Uruguay (two cases).
“That cases are registered here in El Salvador will depend a lot on vaccine coverage. For a country to be free of measles, 95 percent of the population must be vaccinated,” Rosales concluded.
It may interest you: In El Salvador there have been thousands of arbitrary arrests since the state of emergency came into force, according to Cristosal’s report
The Bloom does not register cases
Until the last week of April, the Benjamin Bloom Children’s Hospital had not registered measles infections.
Pediatric infectologist Lourdes Dueñas, vice president of the Pediatric Association of El Salvador (Asopedes) and who also works in the main hospital where children are treated in the country, confirmed that no cases of measles have been registered in that health center so far. .
He pointed out the importance of the administration of the vaccine and its reinforcements.
Those apply to children with 12 months of life and a second dose at 18 months.
“In El Salvador there have been no cases of measles since 1996. In 2001, one case was known, but it was foreigners who were infected,” he explained.
Like Rosales, she mentioned how contagious the disease can be, detailing that it can last up to 18 days.
“It can pass from person to person up to four days before symptoms start, and those can be runny nose, fever, red rashes,” he explained.
Dueñas recommended seeking medical attention in the first moments of symptoms, not self-medicating, and placed special emphasis on prevention through vaccines.
–
