Portugal today confirmed three new cases of measles, two in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and one in Madeira, bringing the total number of cases registered since January 11 to 12, indicated the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).
According to a statement from the DGS, the new cases relate to two men and one woman, between 15 and 34 years old, “with no evidence of measles vaccination”.
For the first time since January 11, a case was confirmed outside mainland Portugal.
In total, since this date, five cases of measles have been confirmed in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, six in the North region and one in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
The first confirmed case was a 20-month-old baby who was not resident in Portugal and was not vaccinated.
In the statement, the DGS once again reinforces “the importance of vaccination” against measles “in accordance with the National Vaccination Program”, which recommends two doses for children and adults born after 1970.
The DGS states that it is “carrying out epidemiological investigation of the cases and monitoring the evolution of the situation”, advising to call the telephone number 808 24 24 24 (SNS 24) in case of signs or symptoms suggestive of measles, such as fever and malaise, followed by runny nose, conjunctivitis and cough, and spots on the body.
Last week, the director-general of Health, Rita Sá Machado, rejected the possibility of there being a “large” measles outbreak in Portugal, citing that it is one of the European countries with “good vaccination rates”, which allow it to “stop the spread of the virus” in a situation of imported cases (without vaccination).
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in the same week that more than half of the world’s countries could be classified as at high risk of a measles outbreak by the end of 2024, due to the widespread increase in cases.
The resurgence of measles, a contagious disease of viral origin that can be fatal, is attributed by the WHO to low vaccination coverage during the covid-19 pandemic.
