Understand how eliminated diseases can come back to haunt Brazil

Brazil may re-register diseases that were considered eliminated in the past due to low vaccination coverage in the last five years.

The country even received the seal of eradication of poliomyelitis in the early 1990s, becoming an example country for the world.

Like polio, measles was a disease considered eliminated in the country by the World Health Organization, the WHO, in 2015. However, the recent measles outbreaks that occurred in Brazil from 2017 to now caused the country to lose this seal.

The coverage rates recommended by health authorities are 95% of vaccinated children up to 5 years old.

Polio immunization last had 100% coverage in 2013. Since 2016, it has been below 90%, reaching 76.1% in 2020 and 69.9% in 2021.

The triple viral D1, which prevents measles, mumps and rubella, has also been registering a constant decrease, leaving full coverage in 2014 to 79.7% in 2020.

Difficulty accessing vaccination sites, lack of awareness of the importance of vaccination and the dissemination of false information about vaccines are among some of the reasons that have contributed to the drop in immunization.

“Fake news is a digitally transmissible disease and causes more victims than the virus itself”, says Renato Kfouri, infectologist and president of the Scientific Department of Immunizations of the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics, SBP.

Isabella Ballalai, pediatrician and vice president of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations, also points to a decrease in the feeling of fear of the disease. “We need to talk about the risks, as these parents of young children, thanks to vaccination, have never seen many of these diseases,” she points out.