measles The outbreak across North America threatens the local situation of officially eliminating the region’s virus, Pan-American Health Agency officials warned that it could cancel a fierce battle victory to wipe out community communication.
The UN agency noted that there was a 4.5-fold increase in measles cases reported in North and South America this year compared to the same period last year.
More than 97% of all regional cases so far this year have been in the US or Canada. Cases have also been reported in Mexico and Argentina.
“Given the rise in measles cases around the world, coupled with factors such as measles, mumps and low coverage of the first and second doses of Levella vaccines, the risk of an outbreak is increasing,” Paho, the Americas regional office of the World Health Organization, said in a report released last week.
Other factors cited by PAHO include an increase in movement among people around the United States and an increase in dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection that can mask the spread of measles due to similar symptoms.
What is measles removal?
The US achieved measles elimination in 2000 after documenting a year of endemic spread of the virus. In 2016, officials declared North and South America without measles, declaring who became the first region in the world to reach this milestone.
Health officials define “measles removal” as evidence of the endemic spread of highly infectious viruses within the region for at least 12 months. A continuous transmission chain that lasts for at least a year will reverse that goal.
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention usually reports hundreds of measles cases each year Around the USmany of which come from short-lived outbreaks related to young children who have not been vaccinated recently outside the US.
The last major outbreak of the virus in the US came in Illinois last year. It was primarily confined to immigration shelters in Chicago.
CDC officials warned in 2019 that they could risk losing their measles elimination status after months of outbreaks around unbaccinated communities in the New York area. However, the United States ultimately maintained its position.
Outbreaks in Texas and Canada
Authorities have been working to increase the incidence of measles linked to unvaccinated communities Over northwest Texas. At least 158 ​​confirmed cases have been reported, state officials said Monday.
The child died last month From the outbreak. CDC death certificate data suggests the latest US death from measles before 2019.
The Trump administration has bolstered its message about the recent outbreak. Op-Ed Offerings for support for Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Texas officials.
“The CDC is actively supporting Texas health officials and will be on the ground working with frontline health providers on Tuesday,” HHS Headmaster Director Stefanie Spear said in a statement Monday.
In Canada, authorities are also working on a month-long outbreak that spreads between the two provinces.
The Public Health Department in Ontario reports that at least 177 cases are linked to the outbreak.
