Peru is proud to have been free of measles for the last nine years
Measles is still one of the principal causes of infant death worldwide. It is an extremely contagious and serious illness caused by a virus belonging to the paramyxovirus family. Approximately 197,000 people died from the disease in 2007, mainly children under five years old.
Yet due to the effectiveness of countrywide prevention and vaccination campaigns, Peru has been free of the disease for the last nine years, according to the country’s Health Ministry. The last registered case was that of David Gómez Núñez from the Ventanilla district of Callao, who was diagnosed with the illness in the year 2000, when he was 3 years old.
The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that measles vaccination campaigns have led to huge public health gains, resulting in a 74% global decrease in measles deaths between 2000 and 2007. This signifies a decrease of approximately 90% in the eastern Mediterranean and Africa.
Comentarios recientes