And, it is being reported that those cases in the Mexican state of Chihuahua - likely came over from the US state of Texas, western Texas to be exact- where more than 500 cases have been reported since late January.
Mexican news outlets also report that the majority of Chihuahua's measles cases have been discovered in the Mennonite communities. And, as you heard, Belize's two cases had travelled to that area.
But, the fact is that multiple flights come out of Houston and Dallas Texas to Belize every day - so are travelers being monitored?:
Dr. Natalia Largaespada Beer, Technical Advisor, Maternal & Child Health
"When you walk into the airports, they have signs and symptoms of measles and report if you have any of this any present illnesses similar to measles."
Jules Vasquez
"But is there increased surveillance at the at the border? People going on vacation won't in general self report. Are their health officers doing actual surveillance of all air and land crossings?"
Dr. Melissa Diaz Musa, Director - Public Health and Wellness
"The, the, the process in Belize and, and in the Ministry of Health and Wellness is that we do have public health inspectors trained in surveillance, at our borders and at the cruise ships. So the public health inspectors have numerous roles when they're at these border points. And one of the roles is in surveillance."
"So the enhancement basically means that we're actively looking for cases reaching out to people who have been sick, because, of course, a part of the public health inspectors duty at the border points, especially for the airport, is to look at the, report that the captain sends out just prior to landing, identifying whether somebody is ill on flight, etc., and then we take action depending on on that."
"So, we will adjust for each border. We will enhance the surveillance at those places."
Jules Vasquez
"How concerned should we be and how do we protect ourselves? These are tourists. You know, they're coming on vacation."
Dr. Melissa Diaz Musa
"Getting your vaccine too, and so that's the best way that we can do it. We've mentioned our heightened surveillance, identifying cases early and isolating cases early. And of course, ensuring that we are vaccinated."
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