EscucharSAN JOSE - Central American countries already have programs in place that vaccinate 85 percent of the population against the measles: now, there is a new proposal to increase the vaccination programs to include at least another four diseases.
During the twelfth Central American meeting on vaccination against preventable diseases and the eradication of measles, which finished yesterday in San José, the region's representatives agreed to wipe out neonatal tetanus.
The delegates also agreed on the introduction of new vaccines including those preventing rubella (often known as German measles), hepatitis B and influenza.
According to the meeting report, the 1993 and 1994 vaccination campaigns cleared 85 percent of the region of measles. Furthermore, "in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama there is no evidence of the virus being in circulation."
The delegates recommended increasing region coverage to 95 percent, and also the vaccination of health workers, the military, students, construction workers and teenagers to prevent the disease from reappearing.
They also resolved to develop observation programs to watch for outbreaks of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome, and to increase vaccination against diphtheria and whooping cough to 90 percent.
There was also a general agreement to reinforce preventative controls against poliomyelitis, which was declared eradicated in the American continents in 1994 - perhaps a cautious move in the light of the recent recurrence of supposedly eradicated diseases in Europe and Asia.
The delegates praised the decisions of Cuba and Costa Rica to introduce Hepatitis B vaccines into their respective immunization programs and recommended that the other nations of the region follow suit, especially given the fact that children in the region suffer a high incidence of the disease.
The report also pointed out that neonatal tetanus has fallen from 242 cases in 1986 to just 13 last year. The new goal is to achieve the disease's control and total eradication by the year 2000.
The meeting was held between 27 and 29 May. It was attended by those in charge of the immunization programs in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico.
