Poliomyelitis and measles were eradicated from Latin America in 1994 and 2016respectively, but since the Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) has warned that these dangerous illnesses can resurface in the region, due to the setback of the vaccination programs.
The national immunization programs “have suffered serious setbacks in the last decade” in the Americas, which is facing “an imminent crisis”, declared Jarbas Barbosa, director of the OPS.
“There is a risk at this moment that diseases that are already eliminated in the region”, such as poliomyelitis in 1994 or measles in 2016, “can return”, assured.
This is because these illnesses have not yet been completely eradicated in the world and cases can be imported, for example through travel. And according to Barbosa’s criteria, “the only way” to prevent this situation is to “ensure that high vaccination coverage is achieved again”.
In 2021, more than 2.7 million children under one year old, and one out of every five children in the region, did not receive all their vaccine doses“leaving them susceptible to illnesses such as polio, tetanus, measles and diphtheria”, lamented the director of the OPS.
“As we emerge from the devastating effects of the pandemic, the risk of new emerging outbreaks” of preventable illnesses in the region “is at the highest level of the last 30 years”, he added.
The OPS, office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for America, claims to have been witness to falls in vaccination coverage rates, inadequate funding and a growing reticence to immunization due in part to misinformation.
From the 2nd of May to the 9th of July, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) of Ecuador will lead a vaccination campaign in advanceaimed at children from 1 to 12 years of age, against measles, poliomyelitis and rubeola.
It is expected to reach at least 80% of the country’s corners.
The immunization will be in 15,900 educational units, 2,000 health centers, 6,000 child development centers.
The coverage is for 3.7 million vaccinated children, 70% would be vaccinated in schools and 30% would voluntarily go to health centers. (I)
