International alerts on cases of measles, especially in Europe, warned the Costa Rican health authorities that decided to implement an extra vaccination campaign for four weeks in August.
Leandra Abarca, coordinator of the Expanded Immunization Program, explained that this is a highly contagious and serious disease transmitted as an infection of the lower respiratory tract.
Very easily, a person can transmit it to another vulnerable person. One of its characteristics is that it is very likely to become complicated with blindness or encephalitis,”
said Abarca.
From 2014 to date, alerts have been issued for 13,712 cases worldwide, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). They are more common in Europe, but in America there are already 600 confirmed cases of measles.
In Central America there is an imported case in Guatemala of a student who went to Europe and returned with the disease. This is why the CCSS has been training officials to strengthen the prevention of measles and prevent the arrival of a case or know how to respond if it occurs.
Currently, the vaccine is given to children who are 15 months old and seven years old, but it has an effectiveness of 5%. That is why the authorities have deemed necessary to carry out reinforcement campaigns. This time it will be applied to children from 15 months old to nine years old.