The Macau Health Bureau (SSM) is urging all those who have no immunity against measles to get vaccinated considering that a number of states in the United States are currently being hit by measles outbreaks and that measles infections are being reported in some neighbouring countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam.
An SSM statement on Monday night noted that according to data from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of last week 222 measles cases had been recorded in the country during its ongoing outbreak, while 94 percent of the patients had not been vaccinated against the disease or whose vaccination records were unknown.
According to the statement, the CDC data indicated that nearly 80 percent of the measles patients during the country’s ongoing outbreak were children and teenagers, where an unvaccinated child had died after being infected with measles, while an unjabbed adult had been confirmed by the authorities as having been infected with measles after he or she died, with his or her exact cause of death still being identified.
The SSM statement did not lay out details about the ongoing measles situations in the Philippines and Vietnam.
The statement underlined that due to the current measles situations elsewhere, Macau is now facing a risk of recording imported measles cases, despite being a place where the disease is not endemic.
People are generally immune to measles after getting vaccinated against it or having previously been infected with the disease.
Consequently, the statement said, the Health Bureau is now urging all those who have no immunity against measles to get inoculated against the disease, particularly those who will travel to countries and regions where measles is currently prevalent.
The statement underlined that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent measles.
According to the statement, those aged below 18 need to receive at least two MMR jabs, a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (aka German measles), after the age of one, to become completely immune to measles. In general, the statement noted, the Health Bureau recommends that children receive an MMR jab when they are 12 months and 18 months old.
Moreover, according to the statement, those aged 18 or over who were born after 1970 should receive an MMR jab if they have never been infected with measles and have not been vaccinated against the disease after the age of one, particularly those who take care of babies such as domestic helpers and those working at day nurseries.
This poster in Portuguese released by the Health Bureau (SSM) on Mondayexplains measles’ transmissions and symptoms.
