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Associated Press

Brazil’s health ministry launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Monday to protect children from measles and poliomyelitis.
The initiative follows a measles outbreak that has affected more than 1,000 people and killed five children, coming soon after the disease was eradicated in 2016.
Health officials also worry that polio may return to Latin America’s largest nation.

The measles cases are mostly concentrated in northern states of Amazonas and Roraima where thousands of Venezuelan refugees are crossing the border to flee economic and political hardships, as well as a failing health system. Many of them are sick and have not been immunised.
“If our population in the North, which welcomed such a large group of Venezuelans, had been vaccinated, we wouldn’t be dealing with an outbreak right now,” said Isabella Ballalai, president of the Brazilian Society of Immunisation. “We’d be dealing with a minor problem.”
That was the case from 2000 to 2013, when most Brazilians were protected against the disease, and stopped any imported measles viruses from spreading.
Lula may be in prison, but party in Brazil nominates him for president
But last year, only 70 per cent of the population received both doses of measles vaccinations.
In the states with the most critical situation, the Ministry of Health has already been giving out free shots in clinics and home visits since July.
Now it wants to go back to full coverage on a national level: The goal is to vaccinate at least 95 per cent of children aged 1 to 5 by the end of the month.
The Ministry of Health has been advertising the campaign for weeks, and even recruited popular children’s entertainer Xuxa – known as the “queen of the little ones” in Brazil – to be the celebrity spokesperson.

On the first day of the campaign, queues at Rio de Janeiro health clinics were relatively short.
There are only 14 confirmed measles cases in the region, but some families ventured into the rain to make sure their children were protected.
The 34-year-old teacher Michelle Souza brought her 2-year-old son Morilo to a centre in Cidade de Deus in western Rio.
Deaths soar as scorpions invade urban Brazil to feast on cockroaches
“I got really worried because it’s been a while since we heard anything about measles. And now the disease is spreading in some regions,” she said.
On the other side of the city, Ednea Fernandes, a 39-year-old seamstress, brought her son to the immunisation clinic in Botafogo even though the 5-year-old had already got all his shots.
“I’ve always careful. But with this measles outbreak on the news, I’ve been especially vigilant,” she said. “They said I could take my son home.”

Turnout in the beginning of vaccination campaigns is often low in Brazil, but Ballalai hopes that awareness about the outbreak will keep growing, and that families will take their children to get vaccinated. On August 18, the high point of the campaign, more than 36,000 clinics will be open.
“In previous campaigns, there wasn’t necessarily that call to save your child. So people didn’t show up,” she said.
“This time we’re calling out: Come save your child. Come save Brazil from measles.”


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Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil tackles measles outbreak with vaccination campaign

Health officials are also concerned that polio may return to Latin America’s largest nation

Pedro, 1-year-old, looks on after receiving a vaccines against measles and polio, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 6, 2018. Brazilian health authorities launched a nationwide vaccination campaign against measles and polio, two diseases that are showing up in larger numbers in Latin America's largest nation after being all but eradicated. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A health worker gives a toddler a dose of the oral polio vaccine, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 6, 2018. Brazilian health authorities launched a nationwide vaccination campaign Monday against measles and polio, two diseases that are showing up in larger numbers in Latin America's largest nation after being all but eradicated. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A mother cradles her baby as they wait to receive a vaccine against polio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday. Brazilian health authorities have launched a nationwide vaccination campaign against measles and polio. Photo: AP

Even from behind bars, Brazil’s Lula secures a nomination for president

Popular former president is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and is likely to be barred from the ballot. But he leads all the polls by a wide margin.

Brazilian senator and president of the Workers' Party (PT), Gleisi Hoffmann (R), holds a mask depicting Brazilian former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, during the national convention of the Workers Party (PT), in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 04, 2018. Brazil's presidential election, starting with a first round on October 7, is seen as the most unpredictable in decades. The leftist Workers' Party that Lula da Silva founded is due to nominate him as its candidate. After that, it will be up to the country's top courts to decide whether he can be on the ballot. / AFP PHOTO / NELSON ALMEIDA

Presidential candidate Marina Silva (L) and her vice-presidential running mate Eduardo Jorge, are pictured during the launching of their candidacies ahead of October's presidential election, during the national convention of the REDE Party, in Brasilia, on on August 04, 2018. Brazil's presidential election, starting with a first round on October 7, is seen as the most unpredictable in decades. The center-leftist Silva, who was environment minister of former president Lula da Silva, made two strong bids for the presidency in 2010 and 2014, so she is hardly unknown. Polls show her close to right-winger Bolsonaro and possibly beating him in a second round runoff. / AFP PHOTO / Sergio LIMA

FILE - In this May 23, 2018 file photo, Geraldo Alckmin, Brazil's presidential hopeful and former Sao Paulo governor, addresses the "In Defense of Muncipalities" Congress in Brasilia, Brazil. Alckmin publicly tried to court as his running-mate Josue Gomes, who apart from being a successful businessman is also the son of former Vice President Jose Alencar, but, Gomes declined for personal reasons. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

A man places masks of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on chairs, before the national convention of the Workers Party, in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Saturday. Brazil's presidential election, starting with a first round on October 7, is seen as the most unpredictable in decades. Photo: AFP

Chinese money pours into Brazil as US trade war bites, with US$54 billion across 100 projects

A soybean oil production line at the Hopefull Grain and Oil Group factory in Sanhe, in China’s northern Hebei province on July 19. The company is currently using soybeans imported from Brazil, after recently changing from US crops. Photo: AFP

FILE PHOTO: Farmer Rudelvi Bombarda observes his soybean crops in Barreiras, Bahia state, Brazil February 6, 2014. Picture taken February 6, 2014. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File photo NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

This photo taken on July 19, 2018 shows a worker loading sacks of animal food made from soybeans at the Hopeful Grain and Oil Group in Sanhe, in China's northern Hebei province. The company is currently using soybeans imported from Brazil, after recently changing from US soybeans, weeks before China imposed tariffs on American goods in retaliation for tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese goods. / AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

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Health officials are also concerned that polio may return to Latin America’s largest nation


Health officials also worry that polio may return to Latin America’s largest nation


Brazil tackles measles outbreak with vaccination campaign

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Health officials are also concerned that polio may return to Latin America’s largest nation

Health officials are also concerned that polio may return to Latin America’s largest nation