by By Raul Cortes
(Reuters) -The Pan American Health Organization said on Thursday that this year they apply for cooperation with neighboring countries for combating the vaccine for yellow fever and measles in the population groups in parts of the region.
The director of the organization, Jarbas Barbosa, made the announcement on the same day that the US researchers were a quarter of a century after several outbreaks at a critical time in the yeast’s return.
“Measles are one of the most contagious diseases in the world,” said Barbosa. “The countries have difficulty keeping the recommended 95% MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccinated and leaving us vulnerable for imported cases,” he added.
According to health experts, 95% of the population must be vaccinated in order to offer those who are unable to maintain the vaccine, such as babies under 6 months.
Paho has identified localized measles outbursts in six countries in the region. So far, 2,313 cases have been reported this year, which is a significant increase compared to the 215 cases for the same period of the previous year. Three deaths have been confirmed and one is examined.
Since the beginning of 2025, the United States has registered a dozen outbreaks and at least 800 measles cases, including 624 infections and two deaths in Texas, according to the US centers for the control and prevention of diseases.
According to Paho, 189 cases in four countries and in four countries and 74 deaths this year have increased this year.
A week ago, the Colombian government declared a sanitary emergency in view of the increase in cases with 74 confirmed infections and 34 deaths.
“Paho works with countries to combat vaccine hesitation, strengthen the routine vaccination programs and to expand access to vaccines so that we can face these cases,” said Barbosa.
In recent years, especially in the USA, the misinformation of vaccines has been hesitated, in which false claims that combine vaccines with autism have been associated with traction. The US Minister of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long promoted such views in contrast to scientific evidence.
(Reporting by Raul Cortez Fernandez; writing by Rafael Escalera Montoto; Editor of Bill Berkrot)
