The health authorities reported the first case of measles confirmed since the beginning of this year. An eight-year-old child from Orhei district was diagnosed with this contagious disease.

Contacted by IPN for details, deputy director of the National Public Health Agency Veaceaslav Guțu said that the girl was vaccinated according to the national immunization schedule, at the ages of 12 months and 7 years. Therefore, she developed a mild form of infection. Even so, she was hospitalized for treatment and to also avoid contact with other people.

The authorities said that people who had been in contact with the girl are under the supervision of the family doctor.

Specialists warn that measles is highly contagious and is transmitted by air from an infected person. Unvaccinated children risk developing complications, with laryngitis, pneumonia and meningitis being the most common ones. Infection can also lead to death. One person diagnosed with measles can infect 18 others if they are not vaccinated, with children being most often affected.

The health authorities also noted that measles can only be prevented by vaccination, given that specific treatment does not exist. In Moldova, the vaccine is administered in three doses, at 12 months, 6-7 years and 15-16 years.

Measles is characterized by a high fever, inflamed eyes, fear of light, lacrimation, nasal discharge, dry cough. On the third or fourth day of illness, red spots appear on the skin, initially on the face and neck and then throughout the body.