Brazil registered 13,489 confirmed cases of measles from January to late November of this year, the country's Ministry of Health announced on Thursday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The country had two outbreaks in 2019: one early in the year, concentrated in the northern part of the country, and another later in the year, spread over various states. Seventeen of Brazil's 27 states reported confirmed cases of measles in 2019.
According to the ministry, most of the measles cases registered from January until November 23 were reported in the states of Sao Paulo, in the southeast, and Parana, in the south. In the state of Sao Paulo alone, there were 12,296 cases, located mostly in the state's capital city of Sao Paulo and its metropolitan area.
Sao Paulo is Brazil's most populated city, with over 11 million inhabitants, and the 45 million people in Sao Paulo state make up over 20 percent of the Brazilian population.
In addition to the confirmed cases, other 18,530 suspected cases of the disease are currently pending confirmation.
There were a total of 15 measles deaths in Brazil over the course of the year; eight of the victims were children. Out of the 15 deaths, 14 were registered in Sao Paulo state and one was registered in Pernambuco state in the northeast.