A measles outbreak has been detected in the Canary Islands, four people have fallen ill

The Canary Islands Ministry of Health insisted this Friday on the need for vaccination against measles to avoid transmission of the disease, and did so after the discovery of an outbreak in which four people were affected, of whomchildren under vaccination age, persons over vaccination age, and adults.

This is a disease of which no new cases have been reported for many years and which has reappeared in the Canary Islands: this case began in a minor who was not properly vaccinated.

Measles is a febrile exanthematous disease that begins with fever, nasal congestion, cough, and sometimes small erythematous spots with a whitish center may appear on the oral mucosa, the report explains.

The rash, which appears three to seven days after the onset of symptoms, begins on the face and spreads throughout the body.

It is highly contagious and is transmitted through respiratory droplets or direct contact with infected people.

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Spain free of endemic measles transmission due to the low number of detected cases and outbreaks.

However, recently cases of the disease have been registered in nine autonomous regions, of which outbreaks have been registered in five, the Ministry of Health recalled.

Until the first week of May, there were 42 confirmed cases of measles in Spain.

The Canary Islands has an outbreak of three confirmed cases in children under two years of age and 407 contacts who have been contacted by the General Directorate of Public Health to check their vaccination status and inform them of measures if they begin to show symptoms.

The measles vaccine is given in two doses at 12 months and three years of age, and 95 percent of the Canary Islands population is vaccinated correctly in the first year of life.

The Directorate General of Public Health insists that the vaccine is the most effective way to prevent contracting or transmitting measles.