Nicaragua is on alert due to the rise in measles cases across the Americas, prompting the Ministry of Health (Minsa) to announce an action plan to address the disease.

In a statement, the health ministry of this Central American nation said that an outbreak of this disease in countries of the region has left three deaths, of which two are from the United States and one from Mexico.

“We will strengthen surveillance at a national level, the vaccination of children, as well as attending suspicious clinical cases through rapid response teams to avoid its introduction and prevent its spread,” the Minsa said.

In addition, they will strengthen epidemiological surveillance, and laboratory sampling of suspected cases of the disease, and reinforce the knowledge of both public and private health personnel in the early detection and timely management of cases.

According to Minsa, among the strategies to counteract the disease, they plan on a weekly basis, the vaccination coverage by population and births for the year 2024 in sectors and municipalities.

Minsa also informed that it will work to identify children from the sector in the follow-up notebook to complete vaccinations. We will achieve immunization coverage with two doses of MMR (measles, rubella, and mumps) above 95%.

It will also reinforce the national vaccination campaign with brigades to the sectors with the lowest vaccination coverage, and a rapid monitoring of vaccines by sector to verify compliance.

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