Immigrants: Potential Menace for Measles Elimination Target in Iran

Abstract

Measles is a highly contagious disease. By the end of 2013, 84% of children had received at least a single dose of measles vaccine by their second birthday, and 148 countries had included a second dose as part of routine immunization. In 2002, the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education developed a comprehensive strategy to eliminate Measles including mass immunization campaign for people aged 5-25 years (1). Suburban areas where residents usually are nomads or migrants with low socio-economic status (SES), pose a serious threat to the success of any prevention program(2) . There are a huge yet unknown number of Iranian immigrants and illegal refugees living in suburbs of large cities in Iran, where low participation of families in vaccination services might be a challenge (3). In this report, we try to highlight the importance of migrants and immigrants on the success of Measles vaccination programs.