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| A.M.
Costa Rica wire
services photo |
More member of U.S. family
with
measles, confirmed
specialist
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
Ministry of Health confirmed
that two more members of the
family of U.S. citizens are
confirmed as measles’ patients.
The two girls, one and five
years old, who showed the
typical skin rash of the virus
and tested positive for measles
in the lab tests.
The two girls were vaccinated on
March 20, but that was after
they had been in contact with
the virus and there was no time
for an immunity to develop.
The six children remain in
isolation at their home in Cobano*
in the province of Puntarenas.
Technicians are still in the
process of testing the rest of
the 11 member U.S. family.
As A.M. Costa Rica reported on
March 25, four children in the
family came down with the
virus in the first week, boys
ages three, seven and nine,
and a girl, age ten.
The parents have nine
children and none had been
vaccinated against the
disease. The children are not
registered in any school and
so are presumed to be
home-schooled so the risk that
they have infected other
children is low.
The National Board of
Children, known as
PANI, has intervened with
the entire family during the
measles incubation period,
keeping them in isolation.
PANI agreed that they will
wait for the medical treatment
of the family to end in order
to carry out an intervention.
The reason that the
investigation continued is
that the doctors had reported
that the children do have not
had any of the vaccinations
required by law and none of
them attend school.
Due to security policies
regarding the privacy of
patients, the names of the
children and their parents
will not be published.
Daniel Salas, Minister of
Health, reported that "the
children could have acquired
the virus from a U.S. citizen
woman who recently visited the
family and had measles
symptoms, and she has left the
country."
Some of the children, who were
treated at the Social Security
Cóbano
Clinic*, had a fever by
March 15 and skin rashes by
March 18.
Given this situation, the
Ministry of Health, together
with Social Security,
activated the protocol
established in these cases:
1. Isolation was ordered,
medical attention in the home
for the eleven members of the
family: father, mother and
nine children, of whom six are
confirmed to be ill with the
virus.
2. All the medical tests
have already been carried out.
3. The specialists are
investigating the possible
contacts that the children had
with other people in the
community.
4. Doctors will review the
basic vaccinations, which have
or are still pending in
children. Based on this study,
it will proceed to apply the
vaccines that are pending, if
necessary.
Doctors are calling on health
authorities to remind
caregivers that children need
a complete vaccination scheme
(two doses for measles, one
year and three months and on
admission to school).
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In
case any
person has the
following
symptoms:
fever, nasal
congestion,
cough,
conjunctivitis,
skin rash that
starts on the
head and
expands
through the
body towards
the feet,
reaching the
hips around
the second
day, you must
go immediately
to the clinic
in your area.
This case is
not related to
the latest
case involving
a French
tourist
family.
The last case
of measles
infection was
from that
family of
French
tourists.
In that case,
the parents
and their
5-year-old
son, arrived
in the country
on February 18
after having
been infected
with the
disease in
France. They
entered the
country with
measles and
spent one week
in isolation
at the Monseñor Sanabria Hospital* in Puntarenas on
February 26.
The report,
in that case,
showed that
the child and
his mother had
not been
vaccinated
against the
virus and the
father did not
have a
complete
vaccination
record. The
parents stated
that some of
their son’s
classmates had
measles.
The family
remained in
isolation for
the standard
seven day
period set by
national and
international
precautionary
standards to
prevent the
spread of the
virus. Social
Security
activated the
isolation
protocol
because there
are no native
cases of
transmission
of the measles
virus.
Social
Security has
not reported
the costs of
the week-long
medical
service
provided to
the French
family but did
confirm that
the government
will cover the
child’s
expenses under
the Code of
Childhood and
Adolescence.
The
international
insurance
company Europ
Assistance
France will
pay the cost
of care for
the parents.
According to
Dr. Ramírez
"measles is
considered the
most
contagious
disease
worldwide,
with a
transmissible
rate of 90
percent, means
that of 10
unvaccinated
people exposed
to the virus,
9 have the
possibility of
getting sick."
The virus
spreads easily
through the
air through
drops coming
from the nose,
mouth or
pharynx due to
coughs and
sneezes of
infected
people and the
ability of the
virus to
replicate is
high.
While there
is an
international
transmission
of the virus,
there is a
high risk of
getting
measles.
Doctors are
calling on
Costa Ricans
to have their
children
vaccinated.
Social
Security
maintained the
‘extraordinary
day of
vaccination
against
measles’
finished
yesterday
March 31.
The
vaccination
campaign was
aimed at all
children
between 15
months and 9
years.
According to
Social
Security, 770
thousand doses
of vaccines
were purchased
with an
investment
that reached
$1.2 million.
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Should
Costa Rica close
its borders to
anyone who has
not been
vaccinated for
measles?
We
would like to
know your
thoughts on this
story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link
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