Measles Elimination in Europe is Uncertain

A systematic review and meta-analysis to be presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases on April 23, 2022, suggests that the current two-dose measles immunization coverage target of 95% for children may be the absolute minimum required to provide enough protective immunity in the population to achieve and maintain measles elimination.

Furthermore, Europe's measles elimination strategy assumes at least 91.5% of the population is immune to the disease.

However, according to the latest published figures from 2018, only six countries in Europe report two-dose measles vaccine coverage of 95% or higher.

This data suggests that only Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Sweden are the only European countries meeting the strategy's goal.

Moreover, four countries (Albania, Czechia, Greece, and the UK) have lost their measles elimination status.

"Our analysis suggests that even if routine two-dose measles vaccination reaches 95%, and the vaccine effectiveness is 96%, then the fraction of the population that needs to be immune to achieve elimination (i.e., 91.6%) is only just met if you discount immunity conferred by one dose of measles-containing vaccine”, explained Lukas Hemmers from the State Office for Health and Social Affairs in Germany, in a press statement issued on April 6, 2022.

He continues, “Assuming pre-pandemic contact patterns will return as we come out of the pandemic, a vaccination level of 95% should be the minimum requirement, rather than the goal, for successful measles elimination."

"Consequently, further efforts to increase measles vaccination coverage are needed in most European countries.”

Measles is highly contagious.

According to the U.S. CDC, around 9 out of 10 people who are not protected will become infected following exposure to the measles virus.

Although measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, almost 1,300 cases were reported in 2019.

The CDC reported some good news as of April 1, 2022.

Only two measles cases have been reported this year, improving from 2021 when 49 cases were confirmed.

The latest measles vaccination news is posted at PrecisinVaccinations.com/mealses.

Note: This press release was edited for clarity and curated for mobile readers.