Brazil hits global target for measles vaccination

A preliminary report by Brazil’s Health Ministry indicates Brazil has met the global vaccination target for children aged six months to one year, with 95 percent of the general population in this age group registered as immunized. Coverage was not even throughout the states, however.

Below the target are the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, the Federal District, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Piauí, Rondônia, Roraima, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Norte. As for municipalities, 34.5 percent (1,923 cities) were reported as needing to bolster efforts to meet the goal.

Second stage

The second phase of the vaccination campaign should start on November 18. The government expects community health agents to encourage vaccination knocking on people’s doors.

Focus will be placed on adults. “A new group, formed by unvaccinated adults aged 20 through 29, will have a chance to bring their vaccination booklet up to date by November 30, when the campaign ends,” the note by the Health Ministry reads.

The ministry warns that measles is a severe, contagious illness that may be lethal, especially among children. “In the last 90 days, 14 deaths linked to the disease were reported in Brazil, seven of those people younger than five, three aged 20 through 29, and four older than 40.”

Symptoms

The transmission of measles occurs through the air, when someone infected coughs, speaks, sneezes, or breathes near other people. The only way to prevent the disease is through vaccination.

Its symptoms include high fever, headaches, and red patches. Fever often comes along with coughing and irritation in the eyes, severe malaise, and a runny and congested nose. A doctor must be consulted so the correct diagnoses may be reached.