The government of Rio Grande do Sul confirmed a case of imported measles this Thursday (25). According to the State Health Surveillance Center (Cevs), the patient is a three-year-old boy who arrived on December 27th in the municipality of Rio Grande, in the extreme south of the state, coming from Pakistan, on the Asian continent, without having visited vaccinated against the disease.
According to the state government, the child arrived in Brazil on December 26, in São Paulo. Also according to Cevs, during the displacement, the boy was not in the disease’s transmissibility period.
The child only sought medical attention on January 2, with abdominal pain and fever. The boy was hospitalized and in isolation until January 15th. The measles infection was confirmed after serology tests at the Central Public Health Laboratory (Lacen) in Rio Grande do Sul, and microbiology tests at Fiocruz, in Rio de Janeiro.
The government of Rio Grande do Sul reported that the child is well and the family did not show symptoms. In addition, a “selective vaccination block” was carried out on family members, neighbors and health professionals. The state Health Department highlighted that the case was imported and, therefore, without an associated chain of transmission.
The note reinforces the importance of the complete vaccination schedule, which consists of two doses up to 29 years of age and one dose for adults aged 30 to 59 years. In the case of children, vaccination should occur at 12 and 15 months of age. In healthcare professionals, immunization must be carried out in two doses regardless of age. In cases of vaccine blockade, selective vaccination is recommended for all people over six months of age.
According to the Ministry of Health, the goal is for 95% of the population to be vaccinated against the disease. Measles is an acute, viral infectious condition that particularly affects children under five years of age. It is transmitted directly when coughing, sneezing or talking. In Brazil, the last confirmed cases of the disease were in 2022 in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Pará, Amapá and São Paulo.