Health Protection Agency HPA reports a single case of measles, a highly contagious, serious viral disease that has been eradicated from the Maldives.
HPA said that the individual tested positive for the disease on the 25th of this month and that the person contracted the illness while abroad.
HPA said that the agency is currently ruling this case as an imported case and said that the individual who tested positive for measles is being treated at the hospital due to the patient's condition.
HPA said that the patient is getting better and that the patient has completed two doses of the measles vaccine.
The Agency noted that the measles vaccine decreases the chance of contracting the disease to about 97 percent but since measles is one of the most highly contagious and viral diseases in the world, individuals who have been exposed are likely to contract the illness.
HPA said since measles have been eradicated from the Maldives, it has enacted protocols that come into place once a case is detected. HPA said that it has now begun contact tracing of the infected patient and informing contacts as well as begun giving vaccines to those who are unvaccinated from within the contacts.
HPA highlighted the patient traveled during the incubation period and that the agency is now collecting information about those who contacted the patient during the individual's travels, home, and stay at the hospital. It said that ring vaccination would be given to those living in the vicinity of the infected individual too.
HPA said that the signs and symptoms of measles include fever, red spots on the skin, runny nose, cough, and red eyes. It urged all to seek medical attention if they have these symptoms.
The World Health Organization (WHO) publicly declared the elimination of measles from Maldives in June 2017.
