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Measles

Posted: 18 February 2002

The World Health Organisation recommends a 95% uptake of immunisation programmes to ensure success. Vaccination uptake for the Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccination (MMR) has reached an all time low of 65% - 85% in the United Kingdom. Any vaccination programme falling below 85% historically becomes a serious risk for an outbreak.

With reported cases of measles in unvaccinated children in London - a similar pattern was noted in the seventies, when controversy over the triple vaccine DTP resulted in 200 deaths in the UK from Pertussis (Whooping Cough) due to a low uptake of the vaccine - a disease preventable by immunisation.

In Denmark, where vaccination levels for MMR are at 84%, seven cases of measles have been confirmed (Feb 2002). Danish reports state that 'complications from each of the three diseases outnumber complications from the vaccine by a factor of at least 100.'

The threat of the disease is such that more than one million children die of measles each year in the developing world. While around two thirds of measles cases occur in young children, measles can also affect adults. Parents travelling with children to areas of the world where measles is endemic should consider MMR vaccination prior to travel. Imported cases of measles from travellers occur around the globe. Recent imported cases from Indonesia, Brazil, El Salvador and Mexico have been reported globally.

Any person travelling to measles endemic areas of the world should ensure that vaccinations are up to date. Those residing in countries where a vaccination programme is in progress should see their doctor or nurse to ensure that immunisations are up to date, especially in young children. It is only through achieving a high level of immunisation within a country that safety and protection against the threat of disease can be averted.

Source of Information for this newsletter:

Promed

Further Information and Resources:

Disease Facts - Measles

Department of Health NHS Immunisation Statistics

Report on the 2000 Outbreak of Measles in Netherlands