With measles breaking out all over Europe, Portugal (which has suffered sporadic outbreaks in recent years) has now registered its 3rd case – a non-resident man who apparently has no link with the first two cases (in children). The man, indeed the two children first flagged with the virus, have all recovered but authorities are worried. Advice from the World Health Organisation is for ‘reinforcement of vaccination’ (meaning, people who have not been vaccinated, or who have never had measles before, should look into being inoculated). The measles vaccine comes as part of a triple jab known as MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) which is one of the reasons for the vaccine hesitancy of the past: many parents who did not vaccinate their children admitted that it was the ‘triple mix of viruses’ that put them off, not the idea of vaccinating per se.
WHO urges ‘reinforcement of vaccination’ as Portugal registers 3rd case of measles
