Europe measles cases return to pre-2010 levels: ECDC

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The EU hasreturned to similar numbers of measles cases as seen before the large outbreaksof 2010 and 2011.

The new December Measles and Rubella Monitoring report by ECDC showsthat the total number of measles cases in the EU is 7,016 for 2012 compared tosome 30,000 for 2011.
Individually,12 of 29 EU/EEA countries had less than one case of measles per millionpopulation in the last 12 months, low enough to meet the WHO elimination targetset for 2015. However, five countries: France, Italy, Romania, Spain and theUnited Kingdom accounted for 94% of the reported cases, according to an EuropeanCentre for Disease Prevention and Control news release Dec. 21.
Here are someother measles developments from the surveillance report:

• The 29contributing EU/EEA countries reported 7,016 cases of measles from January toOctober 2012 and 8,795 cases during the last 12-month period from November 2011to October 2012.
• The number ofreported cases is substantially lower in 2012 compared with the same period in2011, but the aggregated EU/EEA notification rate for the last 12-month periodcontinues to exceed the elimination target of less than one case per millionpopulation.
• Of the casesreported in the last 12-month period for which vaccination status wasavailable, 82% were unvaccinated.
• Fifteen percent(1,279) of the cases were under one year of age; of these, 97% were reported asunvaccinated.
• Of the 2,254cases aged 1–4 years, targeted by vaccination programs in all Europeancountries, 77% were reported as being unvaccinated.
• There were nomeasles-related deaths reported during the last 12 months but 10 cases werecomplicated by acute measles encephalitis.

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