An Unvaccinated Adult With Measles Is in Isolation at Lisbon's Santa Maria Hospital, and More Than 400 Contacts Have Been Traced
The hospital says the patient is improving and his close relatives have been vaccinated. The symptoms to watch for, when to call SNS 24, and who the DGS says should have the measles vaccine.
An unvaccinated adult with measles is in isolation at the Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon, and the patient's close relatives have already been vaccinated, the hospital confirmed on Friday.
The Unidade Local de Saúde de Santa Maria (Santa Maria Local Health Unit, ULSSM) said in a note to the media that the patient's condition is improving and that the public health measures set for such cases had been applied "rigorously and exhaustively". It issued the note after Rádio Renascença reported the case, according to Lusa.
More than 400 contacts
According to Renascença, more than 400 people who were in contact with the man have been identified. The broadcaster reported that he went to the emergency departments of Santa Maria and of the private Hospital Lusíadas Lisboa on 3, 4 and 6 October. The hospital did not confirm those figures in its note.
The ULSSM stressed that herd immunity against measles in this part of Portugal is strong, "the result of an effective vaccination plan", and urged people to keep up with their vaccines.
At the end of August, the Direção-Geral da Saúde (Directorate-General of Health, DGS) reported nine confirmed measles cases in Portugal since the start of the year, Lusa reported, and said high vaccination coverage was an "important barrier" to the virus.
What the DGS says to watch for
Measles is one of the most contagious infections. It spreads through the air, in droplets or aerosols from an infected person's cough or sneeze. It is usually mild, but it can be serious and can kill.
According to the DGS, it starts with fever and feeling unwell, followed by a runny nose, conjunctivitis and a cough. Small white spots may appear inside the cheeks a day or two before the rash. The rash starts on the face and spreads to the trunk and limbs, with a high fever and exhaustion. A person can pass the virus on from four days before the rash appears until four days after.
Anyone who has been in contact with a measles case, or who develops these symptoms, should call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24 or their own doctor. Health staff will check the vaccination status of a patient's contacts and vaccinate them, or give immunoglobulin where indicated.
Who should be vaccinated
Measles vaccination in Portugal is free and available to everyone in the country, the DGS says. Its rules are:
- everyone under 18 should have two doses of the MMR vaccine (VASPR);
- adults born in 1970 or later, with no reliable history of having had measles, should have had at least one dose, given at 12 months of age or later;
- people born before 1970 do not need the vaccine, because a national serological survey in 2015 and 2016 found about 99 percent of them are protected, unless they are exposed to a case or travelling to a country with measles, in which case one dose is recommended;
- every health worker without a reliable history of measles should have two doses, whatever their year of birth.
Earlier this week we reported a survey showing that almost two in three adults cannot name the vaccines recommended for them.
