Health authorities reported on Monday that Canada has Loss of measles-free country status Due to an outbreak that began a year ago and has continued until now More than 5,000 affected.
“Endemic measles transmission has re-emerged in Canada. Therefore, it has occurred in the Americas region You lost your degree The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Jarbas Barbosa, announced on Monday that the region is free of endemic measles transmission. In this sense, Barbosa emphasized that the Regional Monitoring and Verification Committee for Measles Elimination “Uses very objective criteria.” To conclude that a country has lost its certification as a measles-free country.
“If you present a country Continuous transmission for more than 12 monthsIt is considered that measles transmission has resumed. (…) When a country loses certification, the entire region loses it. However, it should be noted that 34 countries in the Americas maintain their certification as measles-free countries.”
Barbosa noted that although “this loss represents a setback,” it is also a setback “It’s reversible”. “Until measles is eliminated worldwide, our region will continue to face the risk of the virus spreading among unvaccinated or incompletely immunized populations. However, as we have already demonstrated, through political commitment, regional cooperation and sustained vaccination, it can (…) restore this collective achievement,” he declared.
For its part, the Canadian authorities indicated this The vaccine is the best way to protect yourself “If we remain alert and work together to increase measles vaccination coverage, we can prevent outbreaks and protect our communities from this preventable disease,” the public health agency said.
From 2024, 5156 cases were recorded Of measles cases – 4,800 of which have been confirmed, while the rest are classified as “probable” – in ten regions. In addition, two deaths have been reported in the country, both in cases of congenital measles in people born prematurely.
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