Measles epidemic causes concern …

[14 November 2011 - 16h20]

The measles epidemic that is currently rampant in France is a matter of concern not only to French health and European health authorities. The World Health Organisation has observed that this epidemic is spreading to other areas of the world – to the continents of America and Africa, for example.

On 20 September this year, more than 26,000 cases of measles were confirmed in 40 countries in the WHO’s European region. Furthermore, eleven deaths were also recorded in this region: six in France, one in Germany, one in Kyrgyzstan, one in Romania, one in the Republic of Macedonia and one in the United Kingdom.

According to the WHO, the predominant strain is type D4, the same strain that caused the previous epidemic outbreak in Europe. That was in Israel in 2008. On the other side of the Atlantic, the WHO has also observed the emergence of epidemics linked to importation of the virus from other regions of the world.

However, the problem doesn’t stop there. The WHO is also concerned at the situation that appears to be developing in certain African countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Zambia and Ethiopia. These outbreaks should act as a warning to travellers of the need to ensure that they are properly vaccinated against measles before venturing to these areas.

It is therefore more necessary than ever to stress the importance of disease prevention measures. The MMR vaccine (Mumps, Measles, Rubella) is given in two stages: a first dose at the age of 12 months and a second dose between 13 and 24 months. Anyone born from 1980 onwards should have received two doses of the vaccine.

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