The Baixo Alentejo Local Health Unit (ULSBA) identified three cases of measles and “almost 500 risk contacts” in the municipality of Beja, since the beginning of April, said that entity this Monday.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, the doctor from the ULSBA Local Health Authority (ASL), Bruno Pinto Rebelo, revealed that the three cases of measles were identified in adults “between the ages of 30 and 55.”
Two of the episodes occurred in unvaccinated people and the other in an individual with the vaccination schedule recommended in the National Vaccination Program (PNV) of the Directorate-General for Health, he said.
As occurrencesaccording to doctors, have an “epidemiological link” among themselves and were registered in the municipality of Beja.
“Among the confirmed cases, since the beginning of April [e] To date, we have identified almost 500 risk contacts, having checked everyone’s vaccination status and notified almost all of them by telephone, prioritizing children and unvaccinated people”, he explained.
According to Bruno Pinto Rebelo, of these, “more than 120 were vaccinatedaccording to the DGS standard, because they only had one or no dose of the vaccine at the time of exposure to confirmed cases”.
For the health professional, the fact of registering an episode in an unvaccinated person “is not necessarily a cause for seizure”since “the most recent studies indicate a very high efficacy rate of protection against measles in people with two doses of the combined vaccine.”
“We know that the appearance of measles cases in people vaccinated, according to the PNV scheme, is highly unlikely, but possible,” he said.
Asked about whether it was a possible measles outbreak, Bruno Pinto Rebelo confirmed that this was the case, according to his definition of “outbreak”which involves the sudden and unexpected emergence of the number of cases of a disease, in a certain geographic area and in a short space of time.
“The appearance of these cases is effectively considered to be an outbreak,” he stressed.
Even so, the doctor assured that “DGS standards and recommendations” are being followed to “prevent the emergence of new cases”, and it is not “prudent” to foresee the evolution of the disease in the region.
“It would be imprudent to make any projection until the measles incubation period, which is relatively long [e] which can range from six to 23 days [desde a exposição ao vírus e o início de sintomas]”, he justified.
How many people are infected with measles?
On February 9, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control issued a report in which confirmed 7,655 cases of measlesem 2025in 30 European Union countries, of which 21 were confirmed in Portugal.
According to the data, around half of the cases in Portugal were registered in March 2025with the vaccination rate reaching 99% in the first dose and 96% in the second.
At the time, DGS told Lusa that the cases confirmed in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and in the Central region were imported or associated with imported cases and around half occurred in unvaccinated people.
What is measles?
Measles is an infection caused by a virus and characterized by fever, cough, conjunctivitis, runny nose and red spots on the skin.
It is transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Normally the disease is benign, but in some cases it can be serious or lead to death.
