MoHW Urges Measles Vaccination as Cases Rise in Guatemala

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is urging Belizeans tonight to double‑check their vaccination records. This comes after Guatemala confirmed a dozen measles cases, including in areas right along our shared border. Health officials are warning that measles is one of the most contagious viruses out there, and with Belize’s immunization rate still below the 95 percent needed for strong community protection, the risk is real. Today, we spoke with Dr. Natalia Beer, Maternal and Child Health Technical Advisor at the Ministry, who explains what Belizeans should be doing right now to keep themselves and their families safe.

 

Dr. Natalia Beer, Maternal and Child Health Technical Advisor. MOHW

“Measles is a highly contagious viral infection and the only way to protect ourselves from getting the measles is to be vaccinated. The departments in Guatemala that are reporting positive cases. Two of them are right neighboring to Belize, which is Izabal and Petén. So we need to we’re asking another republic to check on their vaccination status and make sure they get vaccinated. We provide the MMR vaccine at twelve months of age and then a second dose at eighteen months of age. And then for older persons, ten years and older, we give the MR. And for persons who are traveling, make sure that you’re vaccinated. If you don’t recall, if you were vaccinated or you have no document to prove that you’re vaccinated or you know of a certain that you are not vaccinated, just get the vaccine and have that on hand to demonstrate that you are vaccinated. We need to protect them, our children and the elderly, and we need to protect the community. So that’s an effective way to protect ourselves. The measles, unfortunately, have the capacity to find those unvaccinated and cause the infection. That is what is happening. The cases in Guatemala are unvaccinated persons that are getting positive.”

 

Zenida Lanza

“So how serious would you label the race to Belizean?”

 

Dr. Natalia Beer

“We travel a lot to Guatemala. Guatemalans come a lot to Belize, so we have to be vigilant and identifying signs and symptoms at the border entry, the point of entry in the country, and just ensure that our population understand that the risk will always be there if we are not vaccinated.”