Measles outbreak confirmed in Mexico City

As of April 2 , Mexico’s Health Ministry informed there are 113 confirmed measles cases in the country, most of them located in the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico

The boroughs with more cases are Gustavo A. Madero , Álvaro Obregón , Miguel Hidalgo , and Cuajimalapa .

Regarding municipalities in the State of Mexico, the most affected are Ecatepec , Naucalpan , Tecámac , Nezahualcóyotl , and Tlalnepantla .

Health minister Oliva López Arellano

said that through a molecular diagnostic, it was identified that this outbreak is a Canadian lineage , hence, the cases are related to importation although the visitor has not been identified yet; however, it is known that the first cases were registered at the prison. It was detected that most patients did not have a complete vaccine scheme and in some cases, there were some patients who did not even have antecedents, mainly children.

Minister Oliva López Arellano

said that “all of them were vaccinated, including the whole Reclusorio Norte prison [for there were suspected cases], inmates and medical staff; over 8,000 vaccines were administered in the prison.”

In a news conference, López Arellano said that authorities have already implemented the corresponding sanitary barriers in the places where the confirmed cases were detected.

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Preventive measures

include identifying the people with which the patients have had contact so as to prevent further infections.

Measles is a contagious and infectious disease characterized by the appearance of small red dots in the skin and high fever. The last cases of measles in Mexico City took place 20 years ago , according to Health authorities.

The confirmed cases are located in the following boroughs: Gustavo A. Madero, Álvaro Obregón, Xochimilco, and Coyoacán. The first case was confirmed on February 22.

Despite the number of confirmed cases, the local Health Ministry does not consider the situation as a health alert and even said that there are enough vaccines to fight the disease.

On March 7 , Rosa Icela Rodríguez explained that there are suspicions that a relative of an inmate at the Reclusorio Norte was the one who caused the outbreak for he is the father of the girl infected in the Álvaro Obregón borough, the first registered case.

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The Health Minister Oliva López Arellano informed that the girl’s case “was identified in the IMSS , she’s a beneficiary, and there, the first sample was taken and ratified by the Institute of Epidemiologic Diagnosis and Reference (INDRE).”

She explained that ever since the case was suspected, the health jurisdiction was notified and that same day they began to scan the 25 blocks of the vaccine frame and they searched for the contacts . Nevertheless, there were no other cases in the area.}

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López Arellano explained that the trend of the vaccine coverage in Mexico City had a downward trend from 2010 to 2018 and last year, “with very important vaccination efforts from the public health services, we were able to end the trend, although the vaccine shortage has been permanent since 2010."

The officer mentioned that there is a need to increment the vaccination coverage in the city and even accepted that currently, there is a decrease in the vaccine against tuberculosis .

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