This year, a number of countries have seen an increase in measles infections around the world, including outbreaks in some regions of China. The measles epidemic in Japan has not yet been contained. On the other hand, Europe has also experienced an evident increase in the number of measles cases. In response to the coming spring holidays, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) would like to remind people traveling to affected areas to stay alert and take preventive measures.
According to the figures published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on March 24, 2008, the number of measles cases reported during January and February shows an 60% increase over the same period last year. A large-scale outbreak has occurred in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, resulting in 11,137 reported cases and 21 deaths. In addition, Shandong Province, Zhejing Province, Tianjin Province have also faced worse epidemics as compared to the same period last year.
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan has reported 3,649 measles cases during the first ten weeks of this year. Areas with the most reported cases are Kanagawa (1,380), Tokyo (436), Fukuoka (420) and Hokkaido (316). 48% of the reported cases (1,753) have never received a measles vaccine.
The UK Health Protection Agency has received reports of 777 confirmed measles cases from England and Wales during Week 1 and Week 11 of this year. The number of confirmed measles cases reported during the same period last year was 480.
According to the weekly bulletin of epidemic intelligence published by Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany on March 20, 2008, the total number of measles cases reported through the first 9 weeks of this year was 84 (48 cases were reported during the same period last year).
The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health received 607 reported measles cases during the first ten weeks this year (81 cases were reported during the same period last year).
The highly contagious measles virus can be spread by air, coughing and sneezing, and direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions. Since 1991, Taiwan has launched the “Eradication Program for Measles, Rubella, Poliomyelitis and Neonatal Tetanus”. Moreover, MMR vaccine is given to children at 12 to 15 months, with an additional reinforcing dose administered to first graders. Overall, Taiwanese people are well protected against the aforementioned infectious diseases. However, those traveling to epidemic areas should remain cautious and take precautions to minimize their risk of respiratory infections when visiting crowded areas and make sure that the accompanying children have completed all the required vaccinations for proper protection against the diseases.