Despite rapidly increasing measles immunization coverage in Harare city, measles remains endemic, and regular outbreaks occur. The most recent occurred in 1988, when the measles immunization coverage was 83%. We have carried out a retrospective study of the clinical and epidemiological features of this outbreak to assess whether the present immunization policy needs to be changed. Of 4357 cases...

BACKGROUND Measles among displaced, malnourished populations can result in a high case fatality ratio. In 2011, a large measles outbreak occurred in Dadaab, Kenya, among refugees fleeing famine and conflict in Somalia. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of measles deaths among hospitalized patients during the outbreak. METHODS A retrospective cohort study design was used to inve...

Measles is a highly contagious, acute viral illness that can lead to complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, and death. As a result of high 2-dose measles vaccination coverage in the United States and improved control of measles in the World Health Organization's Region of the Americas, the United States declared measles elimination (defined as interruption of year-round endemic transmis...

BACKGROUND Measles is a highly contagious vaccine-preventable infection which continues to be a significant cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries particularly those with poor routine immunisation coverage. Supplemental immunisation activities (SIAs) were thus introduced to improve vaccine coverage. OBJECTIVE This study was carried out to assess the impact of the s...

BACKGROUND When caring for measles patients, N95 respirator use by healthcare workers (HCWs) with documented immunity is not uniformly required or practiced. In the setting of increasingly common measles outbreaks and provider inexperience with measles, HCWs face increased risk for occupational exposures. Meanwhile, optimal infection prevention responses to healthcare-associated exposures are l...

Before licensure of a measles vaccine in 1963, more than 500,000 measles cases on average were reported in the United States each year during 1951-1962. By 1993, through measles vaccination and control efforts, only 312 cases were reported nationwide. In 2000, the last year in which an outbreak had occurred in Utah, measles was declared "not endemic in the United States," but measles importatio...

INTRODUCTION To review measles IgM-positive cases of febrile rash illnesses in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, over the five-year period following interruption of measles virus transmission. METHODS We reviewed 463 measles IgM-positive cases of febrile rash illness in the State of São Paulo, from 2000 to 2004. Individuals vaccinated against measles < or = 56 days prior to specimen collection ...

BACKGROUND The most severe sequela of measles virus infection is subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a fatal disease of the central nervous system that generally develops 7-10 years after infection. From 1989 through 1991, a resurgence of measles occurred in the United States, with 55,622 cases of measles reported. The purpose of the present study was to identify cases of SSPE that were...

Machado et al1 should be congratulated on seizing the opportunity of the 1997 measles outbreak in São Paulo, Brazil, for learning about measles in marrow transplant recipients. Per the report, only 8 of 156 patients (5.1%) developed measles, and only 1 patient (0.6%) had a severe disease (measles pneumonia). But both the incidence and the severity of measles were likely underestimated. Measles ...

BACKGROUND Since the introduction of measles vaccine to the vaccination schedule, the burden of measles has substantially fallen in Australia. Despite this, a number of recent measles outbreaks have occurred. The aim of this study was to examine the burden of measles in Australia using notification, hospitalisation and mortality data with the objectives of setting a baseline for comparison prio...