Measles Outbreak Contained, 34 Recovered Cases  

There’s some good news on the public health front tonight, Belize’s recent measles outbreak has officially been contained. That’s the word from the Ministry of Health and Wellness, which says it’s been two full incubation cycles without a single new case. The outbreak, which started back in April, was traced to unvaccinated travelers returning from Mexico. It quickly spread through the Corozal and Cayo districts, infecting 34 people and sending one to the hospital. Thankfully, everyone has recovered. So, how did health officials manage to stop the spread? We spoke with Doctor Laura Friesen from the Ministry of Health to find out what worked.

 

 

Dr. Laura Friesen, Medical Officer, MOHW

“This of course was due to the efforts of public health and also all the healthcare workers on the ground and also the communities that were affected. So it included a lot of different. Text, there was a communication component, just educating the public, letting people know what’s happening, what they should do to protect themself, what they should do to if they get ill. And also vaccination campaigns were a big part of the strategy. Because the best way to prevent measles is to get vaccinated. The vaccine is very safe, very effective. So that was a very large part of our strategy as well. So it was mostly vaccination and communication. And then we had our surveillance teams on the ground as well where we monitored and reviewed cases of fever and rash to make sure. If it was a measles case and how we should be managing them if they were confirmed as measles cases. So it was a multi-dimensional strategy. So the most important advice right now is to get vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated, make sure that your children especially those the age of one and one and a half, get their scheduled measles vaccines. And also, if you are intending to travel to any country in the Americas, every country is right now somewhat at risk. But if you’re traveling. Planning to leave Belize. it is the best that you get your vaccine two weeks ahead of time if you have never been vaccinated for measles, which will then give you that protection, should you go into a situation where you get exposure that you don’t get sick  and bring that back into the country. So that is what we are strongly recommending. Vaccination is the safe the safest and the most effective way to prevent outbreaks in in Belize right now.”