In response to the outbreak of tuberculosis, scabies and gastroenteritis in Ceuta, the Spanish Ministry of Health urgently convened the autonomous communities to organize a supply of vaccines for migrants in the city.
An extraordinary meeting of the Public Health Commission will be held on Monday, August 24 at 12:00 PM via videoconference. It will bring together representatives of the autonomous communities and cities around an agenda reduced to a single item: the establishment of a "vaccine solidarity mechanism linked to the situation in Ceuta," according to information from the daily newspaper El Mundo.
This mobilization follows the massive influx of migrants arriving from Morocco at the end of July. Between July 31 and August 14, the National Institute for Health Management (Ingesa) recorded 5,801 cases of care related to the crisis. The Red Cross's deployment on Trampolín beach provided over 2,500 additional cases of care, with a peak of 1,149 consultations in a single day on July 31.
Among the vaccines the ministry intends to administer is the MMR trivalent vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella. Immunization against chickenpox, polio, tetanus, and diphtheria is also planned.
On the epidemiological front, the ministry reported 18 minors with a positive Mantoux test and two confirmed cases of tuberculosis. Healthcare professionals reported consultations for gastroenteritis, scabies, and impetigo. The Spanish army recorded at least 24 cases of scabies among its personnel at the general command in Ceuta.
The Spanish Society of Epidemiology, however, urges caution against directly linking these illnesses to migrant status. It emphasizes that the observed health problems are primarily related to the overcrowded, unsanitary, and resource-poor living conditions experienced by some of these individuals.
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