Spain has strong measles shield as cases rise in Europe

Carlos Rubio |

Madrid (EFE).- Measles is considered a disease eradicated in Spain since 2016 thanks to the vaccination shield that covered 95% of the population, so that last year only eleven cases were confirmed, all of which were imported infections, in the middle of the recovery. diseases in some regions of Europe and whose concern worries experts and organizations, but is low for our country.

A warning from the World Health Organization (WHO) this week about an exponential rise in measles cases in the European region last year has put the disease back on the table, but not in Spain, one of the countries that has avoided indigenous cases. caused by a virus from the paramyxovirus family for almost a decade.

In adults aged 20 to 50 years

According to the WHO, in countries and regions where it is no longer circulating due to herd immunity achieved by achieving 95% vaccination with two doses, 60 or 70% of measles cases occur in adults aged 20 to 50 years.

The warning, announced by WHO this week, comes in the wake of a 2020 pandemic outbreak that led to a drop in vaccination coverage that continued into 2022 and contributed to the rise of anti-vaccination movements in recent years, causing a resurgence of the virus in 40 of 53 countries region.

Reports from the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (Renave) – with data from the Carlos III Institute of Health – and even a report prepared last year on the occasion of the Spanish Presidency of the EU, emphasize the Spanish surveillance system, which constantly evaluates several confirmed cases, the latest of which was discovered in January this year in Catalonia and linked to travel to India.

Vaccinal immunity of 95% or more is required.

Effective immunity against measles is only achieved if countries have vaccination schedules and programs capable of maintaining high coverage rates of more than 95% with 2 doses of vaccine, so rates below this will cause relapses, as has happened in several countries in the European Region. , which collectively recorded more than 30,000 cases between January and October 2023.

In an interview with EFE, Maria del Mar Tomás, physician and microbiologist at the University Hospital of A Coruña and representative of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), explained that the complete eradication of measles has not occurred because when vaccination levels increase, the disease reappears and , although the risk for Spain is “low”, there are communities in which the percentage required for herd immunity is reduced.

For this reason, he issued a “wake-up call” to maintain these rates from childhood by vaccinating minors with the “triple virus” – a serum against measles, rubella and mumps – as well as unvaccinated adults or people with doubts.

“Measles is very contagious,” he emphasized and pointed out that the child mortality rate, which reached 17.5% in 1996, has been about 6.3% in recent years, recalling that significant disease outbreaks. In countries such as the United States, relapse occurs every year due to refusal or forgetting of vaccination.

Calls in Spain for vaccinations since 2019

In 2019, the Ministry of Health included in the unified vaccination calendar an appeal to citizens born after 1970 at that time aged 40 to 50 years, who were not sure whether they had received the two required doses of the vaccine or not. suffered from measles.

Vaccination protocol, to which is added a measles and rubella prevention plan for 2021-2025, including measures agreed with the population.

How is it transmitted and what are the symptoms?

Microbiologist and SEIMC representative notes that the first signs of viral infection can be confused with other processes, so it begins with respiratory symptoms, cough, mucus, conjunctivitis, and is later differentiated from chickenpox as its rash begins in the face and neck and spreads to the arms and palms of feet.

The chance of infection is more than 90%, it is spread by aerosols, direct contact with secretions from the nose or throat, and can spread four to four days after the skin rash appears.

It can also lead to other serious infections, severe diarrhea, pneumonia and encephalitis.