On March 18, 2014, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced the fifth imported case of measles confirmed this year. The case is a 9-month-old Indonesian male baby who returned to Taiwan from Jakarta, Indonesia with his mother on March 11 for naturalization procedure. On March 12, the baby developed fever and rash. After the baby sought medical attention, infection with measles was confirmed in the case. As of now, the case has been removed from isolation and recovering at home. To prevent further spread of the disease, the health authority has compiled a list of 91 contacts, including passengers on the same flights, people who reside in the same household, healthcare personnel and patients, to monitor their health and administer follow up activities such as post-exposure prophylaxis until April 3. As of now, none of the contacts has developed suspected symptoms. Thus far this year, as of March 15, a total of 5 imported measles cases have been confirmed in Taiwan. Among them, four are below one year old who have not reached the age of receiving the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and became infected while visiting Southeast Asia with their parents.

According to statistics compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2013, a total of 8,732 confirmed measles cases were reported in Indonesia, and during 2007 and 2012, about 10,000 to 22,000 confirmed measles cases were reported in Indonesia. January through April is the peak measles season in Indonesia. In China, a total of 4,091 measles cases were reported in February, 2014, which doubles the number of cases reported in January, 2014. In Japan, a cumulative total of 154 measles cases have been reported since the end of 2013, which triples the number of cases reported during the same period in 2012. Currently, Hanoi and Ho Chih Minh City in Vietnam are experiencing the second wave of the measles epidemic among children this year and severe cases have occurred. In the Philippines, up to the seventh week of this year, a total of 15, 683 measles cases have been reported. Manila, Calabarzon and Luzon are the more severely affected areas. In Singapore, a total of 67 measles cases have been reported this year, which is five times the number of cases reported during the same period last year. Most cases became infected because they were unvaccinated against measles or failed to complete the 2-dose vaccine series.

Measles is a highly infectious respiratory disease that is spread by contact with droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of an infected person, either directly or through aerosol transmission. An infected person remains infectious 4 days before and after the development of rash. Nevertheless, measles is vaccine-preventable. Travelers visiting areas affected by measles are urged to pay attention to personal hygiene and avoid brining children under one year old and those who have not completed the MMR vaccine series to the affected areas. On the other hand, some people who have not been infected with measles or those who received the MMR vaccine when young, but their measles antibody level has decreased over time are still at risk for infection. Therefore, they are advised to receive the MMR vaccine two to four weeks prior to their departure to prevent infection.

Taiwan CDC reminds travelers to seek immediate medical attention when sick and advises patients to wear a mask during the entire stay in the hospital. Moreover, travelers planning to visit areas affected by measles are advised to visit the outpatient travel clinic at 21 contracted hospitals in the nation to determine the need for measles vaccination prior to their trip, and throughout the trip, pay attention to personal hygiene, wash hands frequently, avoid touching mouth and nose, and wearing a mask when visiting crowded places. For any questions or further information, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922, or 0800-001922 if calling from a cell phone.