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Measles outbreak in Venezuela is under control

JANUARY 30, 2020 LEAVE A COMMENT

Confirmed cases dropped 91% from 2018 to 2019.

Washington, D.C., 30 January 2020 (PAHO)- The measles outbreak in Venezuela is under
control following a series of actions taken by the country, together with the Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO) and its partners, including a country-wide vaccination campaign that reached
almost nine million children between the ages of 6 months and 15 years.

Between the onset of the outbreak in July 2017 and 2019, the country reported 7,054 confirmed
cases and 84 deaths. In 2018, there were 5,779 new cases and 75 deaths. By 2019, this number had
dropped by 91% to 548 new cases and three deaths. A little over 62% of cases were children under
age 5.

In the context of the difficult sociopolitical and economic situation that the country is experiencing,
PAHO experts expressed satisfaction with having successfully controlled the outbreak. However,
they emphasized the need to continue strengthening Venezuela’s routine immunization program in
order to keep vaccination coverage above 95% nation-wide and maintain a good epidemiological
surveillance system, which is the most effective way to prevent reintroduction of the virus.

Action to stop the outbreak

The response plan to control the outbreak included active participation at all levels of the
Venezuelan health system, mobilizing between 19,000 and 31,000 vaccinators per month in all
states in the country, deploying over 50 international and national experts from PAHO, printing