According to the Ministry of Health, about 40 cases of measles have been recorded in Belarus – in the Hrodna, Brest and Homiel regions.
Eleven cases of measles have been recorded In the Homiel region, 1 in the Brest region and 28 in the Hrodna region.
The first case of measles in the country was recorded in Vaukavysk in late February. It was a five-year-old girl. She had not been vaccinated, as her parents refused to subject her to the procedure.
The Ministry of Health argues that the source of the infection was never found. Hence, the child could have had a contact with a person who had signs of acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI). Measles at first manifests itself as ARVI, and no one suspects measles if a person has not been abroad.
In Vaukavysk, a measles case was last recorded on March 17, since then there have been no new casee in the Hrodna region. The virus, which was identified in Vaukavysk, had not previously circulated in Belarus. In the Homiel region, the virus got from Odessa, where the patient from Zhlobin had been resting with his family.
Measles is an airborne infection: to get sick, it’s enough to stay in one room with someone who has already fallen ill. The incubation period is 10-18 days, the maximum period is 21 days.
In 2016-2017, the level of preventive vaccinations in Belarus was 98%. And this exceeds the recommended level of the World Health Organization for children, which is 97%. Preventive measles vaccinations are given to children at 1 year and 6 years of age. It is two vaccinations that provide full protection.
If there is no information about vaccinations or if there is information only about one vaccination against measles, doctors advise to do it even to an adult no later than a month before traveling to another country where the epidemiological situation is unfavorable. An unfavorable situation is currently observed in Ukraine, Serbia, Romania, Italy, Great Britain, Greece, Germany, Latvia, Poland, France, and Sweden.
belsat.eu, tut.by
