Health Experts Call For Vigilance Against Measles

Main Category: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 21 Apr 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Experts from the EU funded network EUVAC.Net writing in the scientific journal Eurosurveillance, conclude that the WHO goal of eliminating measles in Europe by 2010 could be slipping out of reach. Across 31 European countries examined in the article, nearly 4,000 cases of measles were reported in 2007, with large outbreaks occurring in Switzerland, Germany and Spain. With regard to the annual incidence, Switzerland, UK, Romania and Ireland were the countries with the highest number of measles cases per 100,000 population in 2007. In a separate development, ECDC warned last week of an upsurge in measles cases across Europe. More than 1,300 measles cases were reported in Europe in the first quarter of 2008, compared to less than 800 in the same period last year. Significant outbreaks are currently occurring in Switzerland and Austria, the two countries due to host the European Football Championship (Euro2008) this summer. A joint team of experts from ECDC, EUVAC.NET and Austria is conducting a risk assessment of the situation in Austria in view of the upcoming Euro2008 football matches. Hundreds of thousands of people, some of whom may be unvaccinated against measles, are expected to travel to Austria and Switzerland for the championship.

ECDC Director Zsuzsanna Jakab said:

"Measles is one of the most contagious viruses in existence, causing serious illness and even death. If unvaccinated people are exposed to it they have a high chance of being infected. Significant outbreaks have occurred recently in several European countries, so the risk to the millions of unvaccinated Europeans is real."

"The public health community needs to speak out about the benefits of vaccination - and the dangers of being unvaccinated."

The scientific journal Eurosurveillance is today publishing a special issue with articles on the measles situation in Europe. The publication is linked to European Immunization Week, which runs from 21-27 April 2008.

ECDC is also publishing a European Immunization Week package on its website. This includes photographs, a film clip and written materials relating to vaccination issues.

Measles situation in Europe

Europe achieved a major reduction in the incidence of measles in the late 1990s, with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine being added to the schedule of standard childhood vaccinations in all countries: data from ECDC shows that in the EU25 countries the incidence of measles cases being reported dropped from 35 cases per 100,000 population in 1997 to fewer than 5 cases per 100,000 population in 2004. Some countries, mainly in Eastern and Central Europe and the Nordic Region, have achieved high vaccination coverage and have interrupted transmission of measles virus among their indigenous populations. However other countries, particularly in Western Europe, have not achieved the 95% vaccine coverage needed to eliminate measles: in some regions, around 1 in 5 of the population (20%) is unvaccinated. These European countries continue to experience outbreaks of measles, and export cases to other parts of Europe.

The data for 2007, presented in the Eurosurveillance article by experts from EUVAC.Net shows two findings. While the absolute number of measles cases reported to EUVAC.Net dropped from 8,213 in 2006 to 3,826 in 2007, outbreaks were reported in Switzerland, Germany and Spain. The first quarter of 2008 saw an upsurge of measles cases in Europe, with the Swiss outbreak continuing from 2007 and outbreaks appearing in Austria and the UK.

Routine childhood vaccination against measles was introduced in most European countries in the 1980s. Nevertheless, the key risk group for measles in Europe is children and young adults who have not had the opportunity or have refused to be vaccinated. Scientists working in ECDC's Vaccine Preventable Diseases Programme estimate that up to 3 million people in the EU and EFTA countries fall into the at-risk category.

For more information

Eurosurveillance special issue on vaccine preventable diseases
EUVAC.NET
ECDC information package
European Immunization Week