Health Minister participates in measles event in Ceará

On Tuesday, May 5th, Governor Camilo Santana and the Minister of Health, Arthur Chioro, will participate in a discussion about measles, starting at 15 PM, in the auditorium of the Abolition Palace. Managers and technicians from the State and municipal Health Secretariats will also participate in the meeting. The measles outbreak in Ceará, which reached 34 municipalities, begins the month of May restricted to five municipalities – Fortaleza, Caucaia, Horizonte, Trairi, and Itaitinga. In April, only one case has been confirmed so far, occurring on the 4th in Fortaleza. There are 134 suspected cases of measles under investigation in 20 municipalities, all occurring last month. The outbreak is considered over 90 days after the last confirmed case. 803 cases of measles were confirmed throughout the state between December 2013 and April of this year. Of this total, in the municipalities still considered to be experiencing an outbreak, Fortaleza has 45 confirmed cases in 2015, Caucaia 44, Horizonte one, Trairi three, and Itaitinga six. The data comes from the epidemiological bulletin released by the State Health Department on Monday, May 4th (www.saude.ce.gov.br).

 Measures to control the disease in Ceará began after the first case was reported. Six technical notes were released by Sesa (the Ceará State Health Department), the first on January 13, 2014, and the last on April 29 of this year. On January 27 of last year, the measles vaccination campaign was brought forward in 26 municipalities in Ceará with reported suspected cases – Aquiraz, Beberibe, Cascavel, Chorozinho, Eusébio, Fortaleza, Horizonte, Itaitinga, Pacajus, Pindoretama, Caucaia, São Gonçalo do Amarante, Guaiúba, Maracanaú, Maranguape, Pacatuba, Amontada, Itapipoca, Miraíma, Trairi, Tururu, Umirim, Uruburetama, Aracati, Jaguaribe, and Camocim. Following guidance from the Ministry of Health, the target age range for the campaign was expanded to include children from 6 months to 5 years old (not yet 5). Starting June 27th, the campaign was extended to the remaining 158 municipalities in the state.

Before the start of the FIFA World Cup, which had Fortaleza as one of its host cities, vaccination of at-risk populations, such as volunteers, taxi drivers, and other professionals involved in the event, took place in April and May of last year. On November 8th, Minister Arthur Chioro launched the national vaccination campaign against measles and polio in Fortaleza. This year, on March 23rd, measles vaccination for children, adolescents, and young adults aged 5 to 29 years began in Fortaleza and Caucaia. The expansion of the age range for vaccination was due to the high incidence of the disease in this population. In early April, the media campaign "Everyone Against Measles" was broadcast on TV, radio, newspapers, and bus advertisements to encourage families to vaccinate children from six months of age, and adolescents and young adults up to 29 years old. Every week, the State Health Department publishes a new comic strip as an alternative way to disseminate information about measles and, most importantly, to mobilize and draw attention to the importance of vaccination.

After four weeks without confirmed cases, the measles outbreak has weakened, with an average of 13,11 cases per epidemiological week in 2014 decreasing to 6,29 cases this year. There were no reported deaths in Ceará during the outbreak. Before 2013, no measles cases had been recorded in the state for 14 years. Measles is an acute, serious, transmissible, and extremely contagious viral infectious disease, very common in childhood. The main form of prevention is vaccination, with the MMR vaccine available at health centers throughout the year. Vaccination is ongoing for children from 6 months to under 5 years old.

Press Office of the State Government