Published Date: 2001-05-14 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/EDR> Measles, suspected imported cases - El Salvador
Archive Number: 20010514.0932

MEASLES, SUSPECTED IMPORTED CASES - EL SALVADOR
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See Also

Measles, imported cases - Mexico ex USA 20010504.0857
Measles, imported cases - Mexico ex USA (02) 20010505.0868
Date: Sat 12 May 2001
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: La Nacion, AP Report, 12 May 2001 [edited

Cases of Suspected Imported Measles Confirmed in El Salvador
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SAN SALVADOR: On Fri 11 May 2001, the El Salvador Ministry of Health
confirmed [the first 2 cases of measles in the country since eradication
of the disease in 1996. The Minister of Health, Jose Lopez Beltran, said
that 2 cases of measles had been [confirmed by laboratory testing.
Lopez said that the cases were 2 brothers, 22 and 24 years of age, who were
students at a private university in El Salvador and who had travelled to
Europe in April 2001 and had returned recently. [Consequently these cases
are regarded as cases of "imported virus". The youths had visited France,
Spain, and Switzerland, where there have been reports of measles cases,
according to the Minister. The Public Health authorities have mounted an
epidemiological response, which includes the vaccination of close contacts,
family members, and physicians who treated the patients.
The Minister said that the appearance of these cases is a matter for
concern, given that since 1996 they had fought to declare the country free
of this disease. El Salvador is in the process of receiving certification
[that their country is measles-free, but these cases could block this
process. "[It will be necessary to demonstrate that the virus was
contracted outside of the country and has not had autochthonous
transmission in order to [conform with the process of certification,"
pointed out the director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health.
To prevent the spread of the virus, the health authorities announced that
they will vaccinate the students of the universities in the country. They
have also established sanitary cordons in the international airport and at
the customs houses at overland border crossings.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The ongoing effort to interrupt measles transmission in the Americas began
in late 1989 and was adopted as a regional goal in 1994. According to the
most recent PAHO measles surveillance weekly bulletin (28 Apr 2001), the
last reported case of measles in El Salvador was in the 11th week of 1996
(March) <http://www.paho.org/English/HVP/HVI/sme0717.pdf>.
If these cases prove to be imported, and there is no secondary spread of
the virus within the country, the country's status as free from indigenous
transmission of measles should not be jeopardized. The challenge will be to
prevent secondary spread.
There was an article in a Geneva daily paper 3 weeks ago discussing
continued measles transmission there, so it is quite plausible that these
cases were in fact imported from Switzerland rather than indigenous. The
article does not mention which laboratory studies were performed to confirm
these cases, but one assumes that serology was done, as virus isolation is
a more complicated process and not routinely performed. Additional
information on these cases would be appreciated. - Mod.MPP
........................mpp/cp/pg/es
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