The country had been free of the disease for five years.
An unvaccinated French boy is suspected of having reintroduced measles to Costa Rica after the country had been free of the disease for five years.
According to The Independent, the reasons behind why the boy in question had not been vaccinated are unclear, and that he is being treated and kept in strict isolation at the Monseñor Sanabria Hospital in the port town of Puntarenas.
The health ministry is said to be trying to establish who may have come into contact with the child throughout his holiday.
The French authorities have also been informed about the boy’s illness, so they can track whether anyone else has been infected in the European country.
Before the five-year-old boy was found to have the illness, the last case of measles being imported to Costa Rica had been in 2014.
According to the HPSC website, measles is worst for children under one year of age, pregnant women, and people with poor immunity.
They say that “measles virus is highly contagious and spreads through the air through coughing and sneezing. Make sure your child is protected with measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Children should get the MMR injection at 12 months of age and again at 4 to 5 years of age.”
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