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MEASLES ELIMINATION IN AUSTRALIA AND 17 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES/ GENETIC DIVERSITY OF MEASLES VIRUS IN EUROPE

Friday, 6th of June 2008

CHILD SURVIVAL UPDATE 14/2008: TWO ON MEASLES

 1) MEASLES ELIMINATION IN AUSTRALIA AND 17 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
 
 The present decade, starting with the 2001 creation of the Measles
 Partnership, has not smiled on the measles virus; the next decade may mark
 its passage from the medical books into the history books.
 
 In this article from the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, also at
 http://www.who.int/entity/bulletin/volumes/86/3/07-041129.pdf
 Andrews and colleagues review progress to date of the continental efforts
 to clear Australia and Europe of the measles virus. They focus on
 serosurveillance as a tool for identifying areas at high risk of measles
 reintroduction.
 
 Age-specific measles seronegativity is a good marker for susceptibility to
 measles. In well vaccinated populations, measles susceptibility, as
 measured by seronegativity, should not exceed 5 percent in those aged 10 or
 above.
 
 In countries where routine application of a two dose schedule is the main
 weapon against measles, serosurveillance of the kind described here is a
 useful tool in identifying countries and areas most at risk of measles
 outbreaks. Would it be useful anywhere else?
 
 
 2) GENETIC DIVERSITY OF MEASLES VIRUS IN EUROPE
 
 
 WHO's European region, committed to eliminating measles transmission by
 2010, has used its network of reference laboratories to track the genetic
 diversity of lab confirmed measles cases in the region.
 
 In this article by Kremer and colleagues, which is also available to
 Internet users at http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/14/1/107.htm
 the authors look at the genetic diversity of measles lab isolates from
 Europe. Review of the lab data permits them to conclude that "importation
 from other continents caused prolonged circulation and large outbreaks
 after their introduction into unvaccinated and highly mobile populations."
 
 Since intercontinental travel is unlikely to decline -- quite the contrary
 -- only more vigorous vaccination efforts in all continents, both routine
 and campaign, will reduce the flow of measles virus across national and
 continental borders.