The classmates of the infant who tested positive for the disease in the southeastern city of Encarnación are being monitored and studied, while the immunization campaign has sufficient doses in the vaccination centers, which are urging vaccination from the age of 15 months, the Ministry of Health reported.

The child sick with chickenpox is one of 158 reported nationwide so far this year, most of them in this capital and the neighboring Central department, the Ministry, quoted by Última Hora, added.

The 44 children isolated in Encarnación, aged between 12 and 14 years, will remain under study for 21 days as a preventive measure, and will only be able to return to school once it has been confirmed that they have no fever or blisters on their skin.

Experts of the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) reminded families that vaccination against this disease is part of the regular health protection scheme for children in the country.

The vaccine against chickenpox, a contagious disease characterized by skin rashes transmitted from one person to another, has been applied for 40 years and is essential to prevent outbreaks among children, the director of the PAI, Luis Cousirat, explained.

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