The Ministerio de Salud (Ministry of Health) confirmed Friday afternoon two more cases of measles of a family of Americans living in the country, located in Cabuya de Cóbano, Puntarenas.
The new cases correspond to two girls, one and five years old, who tested positive with measles in the tests of the Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud (Inciensa) – Costa Rican Institute of Research and Education in Nutrition and Health.
Like their four siblings (three boys and one girl), all cases are linked to an imported case and are not indigenous, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.
Both minors were vaccinated on March 20; however, contact previous with the virus slowed down the effect of immunization.
The six children with measles remain in isolation, as well as the entire family, composed in total of eleven members (mother, father and nine children).
The intervention of that family nucleus was confirmed by the press office of the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI) – Child Welfare Agency – on March 20, when it justified that the measure seeks to guarantee the right to health and education, among other situations of vulnerability to which the nine children are exposed.
Health officials are quick to point out that these cases are not related to the first imported cases registered in the country: three French nationals who arrived in Santa Teresa de Cóbano on vacation in February.
The Ministry of Health reiterates the need for parents and guardians of minors to ensure that they are vaccinated.
Measles is a highly contagious disease. It produces very serious complications that could even lead to death.
The Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) has invested more than US$1 million for an extra dose of measles, rubella and mumps vaccine for 770,000 children between 15 months and 10 years of age.
