The municipality of Rio de Janeiro began, this Tuesday (5), a mobilization to update the vaccination of workers in the tourism sector against measles. In addition to health posts and super vaccination centers, the vaccine will be available in places where these professionals gather.
Santos Dumont Airport will be one of the first locations to receive the campaign. Rio de Janeiro is one of the country’s main tourist destinations and will host the G20 summit, as well as parallel events to the leaders’ forum, such as the G20 Social, in the coming weeks.
In 2016, Brazil received certification of elimination of the measles virus and did not register any cases of the disease in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, due to low vaccination coverage and large migratory flow, the country registered cases again.
In 2019, more than 21 thousand cases of the disease were registered and Brazil lost its certification. The following year, there were 8 thousand, while in 2021, there were 670 registrations. In 2022, cases plummeted to 41. In 2023, the country recorded no cases. Therefore, the Brazilian government now expects to receive the certification back.
This year, however, two cases were recorded, one in Rio Grande do Sul and the other in Minas Gerais.
According to the Municipal Health Department of Rio de Janeiro, measles is a highly transmissible acute febrile disease, spread through direct contact between people and droplets of secretions (expelled when talking, coughing or sneezing). Transmission can occur through the air, in closed environments.
The vaccine used to prevent measles in adults is MMR, which also protects against mumps and rubella. “The vaccination schedule for the unvaccinated adult population consists of two doses at 30-day intervals for people up to 29 years of age and a single dose for the age group of 30 to 59 years. If there is an indication of vaccine blocking, people aged 60 should also take a dose”, informs the Department of Health
