NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Paraguay has not registered measles cases for more than 20 years, but now a laboratory in the United States is expected to confirm whether the case of the girl admitted to the San Pablo Hospital in Asunción is positive, according to a Paraguay media report.

sarampión
Image/Screen shot Paraguay MOH

Public Health sent the samples to the United States to sequence the virus and confirm whether it was due to person-to-person transmission or a reaction to the vaccine.

The news did set off the alarms about a possible measles situation. The director of Health Surveillance, Guillermo Sequera, said that if measles was confirmed, it could have happened because the little girl was immunized a few days ago. “A girl of one year and one month had symptoms very similar to measles. It was good the doctor detected and reported the event. From that we did a raking of where is the possible case that has infected the baby. The relatives had a travel history, but it was after the girl’s symptoms began,” he said.

Measles was confirmed positive in a private laboratory in Paraguay; however, the Ministry of Health sent the samples 14 days ago to the United States to confirm if it is the attenuated virus of the vaccine on which the results are still awaiting. Sequera reported that he was found positive for measles in the test carried out in the country.

“It is rare, but it usually happens because he had been vaccinated 7 days before against measles. It could be measles, but from the vaccine. It is a milder measles. To confirm we sent to the United States two weeks ago for them to sequence and tell us if it is measles from the vaccine or wild measles.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Health issued an advisory on making sure your family is vaccinated against measles.

The measles vaccine is given to all children at 12 months of age and at four years of age. Children over four years of age who still do not have the required scheme, should go to the nearest vaccination center. They must also have the dose of protection, health workers and those who work in tourism and transport, as well as those who will travel to risk areas.

Two doses of the vaccine guarantee protection against this contagious disease. The vaccine is safe, effective and free, and it is available in vaccination centers of the Ministry of Health.

World Rabies Day 2021- Livestream event

Measles is a highly contagious, sometimes serious disease caused by a virus. It manifests with high fever, rash (spots on the skin), cough and conjunctivitis. In certain cases it can present complications such as: pneumonia in 1 in 20 children, encephalitis in 1 in 1,000 children, 0.1% sclerosing panencephalitis, and 1 to 2 in 1,000 children who contract the disease could die.

The groups most at risk of severity are children under 5 years of age, immunocompromised people and the malnourished.

This disease is transmitted by direct contact between people and through the air. The virus can remain in the environment for up to 2 hours. The probability of infection is high, 90% in unvaccinated people. It is spread 4 days before the appearance of the rash and up to 4 days after.

 


 

Outbreak News Interviews podcast on Spotify