Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
This paper describes the epidemiology and management of a prolonged outbreak of measles across the 2.7 million conurbation of Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. Over a period of one year (from October 2012 to September 2013), over a thousand suspected measles cases (n = 1,073) were notified across Greater Manchester; of these, 395 (37%) were laboratory-confirmed, 91 (8%) were classed as probable, 312 (29%) were classed as possible and 275 (26%) excluded. Most confirmed and probable cases occurred in children within two age groups—infants (too young to be eligible for measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination according to the national immunisation programme) and children aged 10-19 years (low vaccine uptake in this cohort because of unfounded alleged links between the MMR vaccine and autism). During this one year period, there were a series of local outbreaks and many of these occurred within the secondary school setting. A series of public health measures were taken to control this prolonged outbreak: setting up incident management teams to control local outbreaks, a concerted immunisation catch-up campaign (initially local then national) to reduce the pool of children partially or totally unprotected against measles, and the exclusion of close contacts from nurseries and school settings for a period of 10 days following the last exposure to a case of measles.
Highlights
The number of notified measles cases in Europe fell from 28,203 to 7,499 between 2003 and 2009 [1]
Between 1 October 2012 and 30 September 2013, 1,073 suspected cases of measles in Greater Manchester residents were reported by clinicians and laboratories (Figure 1)
The descriptive epidemiology of this outbreak was consistent with multiple introductions of measles into partially susceptible communities resulting in a series of discrete outbreaks rather than Greater Manchester wide transmission
Summary
The number of notified measles cases in Europe fell from 28,203 to 7,499 between 2003 and 2009 [1]. There have been a number of measles outbreaks especially in central and western Europe, with a peak of cases reported in 2011 (32,124 cases reported) [1,2]. In the early 1990s, the number of confirmed cases of measles fell significantly from ca 80,000 cases in 1988 to ca 100 cases in 2000, as uptake of MMR vaccination increased, to the point where sustained transmission was interrupted [4]. Unfounded fears about a potential link between MMR vaccine and autism [5,6] in the late 1990s damaged public confidence in MMR vaccine, reduced uptake, and increased the risk of sustained transmission [7,8] leading to the number of confirmed measles cases in England and Wales increasing to above 1,000 in 2008 and remaining above 1,000 since, except for the year 2010 when 380 cases were confirmed. In the UK, recent outbreaks have mainly occurred in areas or specific groups with known low coverage of MMR vaccination [9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
