Health Ministry closes first measles outbreak in Canary Islands since 2017

Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands The measles outbreak declared last May has been closed, with no new cases reported. and after the expiration of the period provided for in the protocol for action in the event of an outbreak of this disease.

The outbreak, recorded on the island of Tenerife, was the first detection of the disease in the Canary Islands since at least 2017. and consisted of four confirmed cases of measles, three infants and one adult.

The index case was minor, unvaccinatedalthough the two affected infants have not yet been vaccinated, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

General Directorate SPublic Avalanche has tracked more than 400 contacts of victims check their vaccination status and inform them of what to do if they start to show symptoms.

Remember your health the importance of vaccination to prevent the transmission of measles. In this sense, he insists “that the vaccine is the safest and most effective means of preventing infection or transmission of measles.”

The vaccine against this disease is administered in two doses: at 12 months and at three years. 95% of the Canary Islands population is properly vaccinated in the first year of life..

Very contagious

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 rash, which appears on the third to seventh day after the onset of symptoms, begins on the face and spreads throughout the body. It is highly contagious and is transmitted by airborne droplets. or through 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, cases have recently been reported in nine autonomous communities, and five of them have reported outbreaks. Up until the last week of May, Spain had 133 confirmed cases in 14 autonomous communities, with the worst hit being Catalonia with 62 and Valencia with 17.

Besides measles, There are two more diseases that are beginning to worry the health care system: polio and rubella.diseases that have re-emerged in Europe due to the refusal of some of the population to be vaccinated.

Measles has not actually been eradicated, but it has been brought under control, and local chains of transmission have been detected in Spain this year. although the first case usually comes from outsideexperts say.