WHO declared the official Measles completely wiped from the Americas
It is the result of extensive vaccination campaign lasted 22 years.
More than 50 years after the measles vaccine first, World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday officially announced: measles has been completely wiped out America. That means that not only the United States, a whole continent stretching from Canada to Chile were safe from this dangerous disease.
Measles is a common disease and can cause serious complications, including: pneumonia, mach sense, blindness, brain swelling and even death. America is the first region in the world get rid of the disease. It is the result of an effort lasting 22 years with extensive vaccination campaigns against measles, mumps and rubella across the continent.
"Today is a historic day for our region and is the whole world ", Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization said. "It's evidence that these markers can achieve success when the national cooperation and unity towards a common goal".
However, it must be said that even if the declared wiped out measles Americas, measles virus is still present in the area at a lower level. For the year, the US has 54 separate cases of the disease. But that was all the cases originated from outside the Americas, and was taken to by tourists.
The US has declared eliminated measles from 16 years ago. Largest epidemic outbreak in America itself has also occurred since 2002 in Venezuela.
This indicates the fact that a disease wiped out from the area, although large as America, does not mean that we has eradicated them completely. With the explosion of global connectivity today, infectious diseases always have a chance to come back once we have wiped them all over the planet.
So far, only humans do that with only one base sick. It was smallpox. The development and application of smallpox vaccine since 1796 has made it wiped out smallpox in 1980. Canada last world record was in 1977.
Besides good news from America, we It is also a milestone approaching very close to the second disease wiped out worldwide: the parasitic Guinea worm disease. So far only four countries reported the existence of the disease. And they are also in the process of actively fighting to eradicate it by projects related to clean water.
Back measles, wiped them does not mean that America can now relax vaccination campaign they. Measles has been eliminated through "community immunity". That means about 90 -95% of the population is immunized against measles.
This contributes to protecting small percentage per cent of those not immunized including infants, pregnant women, people think immunocompromised and those vaccines do not work with them. Once your immunization rates decline, the disease may flare up again. One case occurred in California in 2014.
Outside the Americas, measles is still common in many parts of the world. "I want to emphasize that our work on this front has yet to be completed," Etienne said. "We can not be complacent with this achievement which must protect it carefully."
By continuing vaccination campaigns, community education continues, hopefully someday, we can be sure to announce that has wiped out measles worldwide. That would be a more perfect joy.
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