Infectious diseases, among others, measles and polio, can be carried and transmitted even by people who, themselves, do not show symptoms. Because of the risk of importing disease, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) strongly recommends that all persons who intend to travel to Haiti must ensure that they have been vaccinated against measles, rubella, polio and other diseases preventable by vaccination, according to the immunization schedules recommended by health authorities in their country of origin.

This recommendation intervenes after the epidemiological surveys carried out on two possible outbreaks of polio and measles in Haiti, both conducted by the Ministry of Health of Haiti, PAHO and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). The agency said that the original investigation was conducted in Haiti after the onset of four cases of paralysis among the patients of cholera in the coastal town of Port de Paix. Laboratory tests have allowed to rule out polio as a possible cause of death. Despite these results, the vaccine against polio is recommended as a precaution.

Other research conducted by PAHO concerning one case of measles in a child of 8 months [son of a volunteer from Pennsylvania]. According to PAHO, the researchers discovered a group of Haitian children suffering from skin rashes and fever in an area visited by the volunteer and his son. However, the laboratory tests have determined that the source of the disease was chickenpox and not measles.

In Haiti, no cases of measles have been confirmed since 2001, and throughout the Americas, it is considered that endemic measles has been eliminated since November 2002. The two vaccination campaigns against measles, the most recent were held by authorities for children who live in areas affected by the earthquake of January 2010. In their report about the investigation on the measles, the epidemiologists have called for a vaccination campaign "of recall" was held in 2011, for children from 1 to 8 years.

S/ HaitiLibre