Measles and rubella monitoring. May 2013.

Main developments

Measles The 30 contributing countries (29 EU/EEA countries and Croatia) reported 8 127 cases of measles during the last 12-month period (April 2012 to March 2013). Luxembourg did not report for three of the 12-month reporting period. The Netherlands did not report data for February and March 2013 and Iceland did not report data for March 2013. France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom accounted for 95% of the cases in the last 12-month period. Fourteen countries met the elimination target of less than one case of measles per million population during the last 12 months. Sixty-six per cent of the cases had a positive result in a measles laboratory test (serology, virus detection or isolation). Of the 7 757 cases for which information on vaccination status was available, 82% were unvaccinated. In the target group for routine childhood MMR vaccination (1–4-year-olds), 78% of the cases were unvaccinated. No measles-related deaths were reported during the period April 2012–March 2013 but six cases were complicated by acute measles encephalitis. Epidemic intelligence reports:

– In the United Kingdom, measles transmission continues in England and Wales.

– Public Health England has launched a catch-up measles vaccination campaign that aims to immunise an estimated 330 000 unvaccinated people in the 10–16-year-old age group. The plan is to halt the outbreak before the school start in autumn.

 

Rubella The 27 EU/EEA countries contributing to enhanced rubella surveillance reported a total of 12 958 cases during the last 12-month period between April 2012 and March 2013. Italy and Croatia did not report for the entire period (April 2012 to March 2013). Luxembourg did not report for three of the 12-month reporting period. The Netherlands did not report data for February and March 2013. Poland did not report data for March 2013. Five percent of the cases had a positive result in a rubella laboratory test (serology, virus detection or isolation). Poland and Romania accounted for 99% of all reported rubella cases in the 12-month period. Romania has reported an average of seven cases per months since August 2012, indicating that the nationwide epidemic that affected more than 20 000 people is now over. Poland is experiencing a nationwide rubella epidemic. Since August 2012, Poland has reported over 95% of all rubella cases in the EU/EEA. The highest notification has been among adolescents aged 15–19 years. Women represented 39.6 % of the case-based reports in the 15–44-year age group.

 

Read the article here https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/measles-rubella-monitoring-may-2013.pdf