Argentina: Officials strengthen the response to the measles outbreak
In a follow-up on the measles outbreak in the Buenos Aires area, to support the control efforts for the measles outbreak detected in the Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (AMBA) region, the National Ministry of Health held a discussion for primary health care teams. The objective of the event was to provide updated information on the management of measles cases and raise awareness about the role of primary health care teams in prevention and early detection.
The discussion was opened by the National Director of Primary Care and Community Health, Hernán Forli, who emphasized the importance of providing healthcare teams with ongoing training on the topic in order to strengthen early detection and case management.
For her part, Ángela Gentile, president of the National Immunization Commission (CoNaIn), opened her presentation by reviewing the health achievements that led to the elimination of endemic measles in Argentina in 2000. She also emphasized that the role of health personnel in epidemiological surveillance and the implementation of immunization strategies is essential to achieve timely case detection and prevent community transmission of the virus.
The discussion was broadcast live on the Ministry of Health's YouTube channel. More than 1,200 people participated synchronously, and to date, it has received more than 4,100 views. Key topics covered included the global and regional epidemiological situation, case detection and classification, and control and research strategies.
This proposal is part of the initiatives being carried out by the national health ministry to support the targeted vaccination strategy in areas with community measles transmission. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that on April 1, the Ministry of Health began distributing the 900,000 doses of the double viral vaccine purchased to the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the province of Buenos Aires to strengthen control of the outbreak.
In addition, the national health ministry published the document "Guidelines for a Targeted Measles Campaign in the Context of an Outbreak in 2025 in the AMBA Region." This material offers health teams in the affected jurisdictions useful tools for implementing the vaccination strategy to protect the at-risk population and interrupt the chain of transmission. It also emphasizes the importance of maintaining high vaccination coverage and strengthening epidemiological surveillance to quickly detect and respond to imported cases and outbreaks.
It should be noted that, to date, 17 cases have been confirmed, of which 9 correspond to residents of Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (CABA) and 8 to residents of the province of Buenos Aires. Of the total cases, 3 are imported, 8 are contacts of imported cases, and 3 are considered community transmission because direct contact with the confirmed cases could not be identified. The remaining 3 cases remain under epidemiological investigation to determine a possible link.
It takes personal interviews to identify contacts - “boots on the ground”. It can’t all be done by phone and text. Send staff to do the interviews and follow contacts, before the outbreak gets too big.