Fiocruz contributes to regaining measles elimination in Brazil
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) announced on 11/12 that Brazil is once again measles-free. The official certificate was presented to President Luiz InĆ”cio Lula da Silva and the Minister of Health, NĆsia Trindade. In a ceremony at PAHO's headquarters in BrasĆlia, also on Tuesday, researchers and health authorities who contributed directly to regaining certification were honored by the organization. The ceremony was attended by the director of PAHO, Jarbas Barbosa, the organization's representative in Brazil, Socorro Gross, and Minister NĆsia.
Virologist Marilda Siqueira, head of the Laboratory of Respiratory Viruses, Exanthematics, Enteroviruses and Viral Emergencies at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz), was one of those honored. The Laboratory acts as a national reference for the Ministry of Health and a regional reference for the World Health Organization (WHO) for rubella and measles.
In 2016, Brazil achieved measles-free status. However, in 2018, low vaccination coverage allowed the virus to reintroduce itself into the country. Now, the recertification marks the recovery of Americas' status as a measles-free region.
Measles elimination is the result of an effort that began in 1991 with the creation of the then National Measles Control Program, of which IOC's Laboratory has been a part since the beginning, contributing to defining strategies to control and later eliminate the disease.