A three-year-old boy who contracted measles is in good condition but authorities are alarmed by two measles cases on the island, Director of the Pediatric Department of the Makarios Hospital, Avraam Elia told the Cyprus News Agency.
Director of Medical Services and Public Health Services, Elisavet Constantinou at the Health Ministry also told the agency that they are monitoring the epidemiological data in both Cyprus and Europe.
Dr. Elia said that the concern is at a European level, as measles cases have been on the rise since June 2023. He said that a large number of the population is not vaccinated either because the parents are against vaccination or because the kids did not complete the vaccination scheme due to the COVID pandemic.
He also noted the fact that there is a large movement of population from countries where there are measles cases. Dr. Elia pointed out that measles is a disease that is highly contagious, infectious, and transmitted easily from one person to another. It can cause serious com
plications in 30% of people who will get sick.
He said that the two children who have fallen ill in Cyprus were unvaccinated. Dr. Elia added that the first dose of the measles vaccine is given at the age of 12 months and covers around 95% of the disease while a second dose follows to make up 5% of the potency for children who have not made antibodies.
He further said that in Cyprus the vaccination is around 80% adding that vaccination coverage must reach 95% in order to protect the population.
He said the measles vaccine had previously been blamed for autism. He referred to a study published in the UK in 1999. The study, he said, was proven to be false, resulting in the LANCET journal retracting it and, revoking the license of the British gastroenterologist who published it. Dr. Elia also said that there was an anti-vaccination movement followed the COVID era, resulting in many people not receiving the jab.
He pointed out that the measles vaccine has been proven to be “a very effective but also safe vacci
ne”, so there is no hesitation to proceed with vaccinating children.
According to Dr. Elia, the disease is transmitted extremely easily in closed spaces under crowded conditions. Transmission occurs by direct contact with infected respiratory secretions or airborne through respiratory droplets spread by an infected person through coughing, breathing or sneezing.
Transmission can occur from four days before the appearance of the rash to four days after, when the concentration of the virus in the secretions is very high, and coughing, running and sneezing more intensively. The incubation time of the disease varies from 7 to 21 days (usually it is 10-12 days from exposure to the precursor stage and 14 days from exposure to the appearance of the rash).
Dr. Elia also told the Cyprus News Agency that about 30% of measles cases have one or more complications that are more common in children under 5 and adults over 20.
Also, pregnant women and those who are immunocompromised have an increased risk of severe disea
se. More serious complications are pneumonia, acute suppurative otitis media and acute encephalitis (1%). Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare complication and occurs after an average of seven years from the onset of measles.
Director of Medical Services and Public Health Services Elisavet Constantinou told the Cyprus News Agency that the measle vaccination coverage is above 80%, which means we are close to the averages of the EU member states and follow the EU levels.
She urged the population to follow the national vaccination schedule, vaccinating their children with MMR at 12 months of age and repeating the second dose at 4 years of age. Adults should take care if they have not been vaccinated to get the vaccine because it is the only way of prevention, Constantinou said.
Source: Cyprus News Agency