On August 13, 2016, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced an imported measles case in a 9-year-old boy who resides in Hsinchu City.　During July 21 and 27, 2016, the case traveled to Bangkok, Thailand with his parents. After returning to Taiwan, he developed fever and nausea on August 4. During August 6 and 9, the case sought medical attention several times at a clinic and a hospital. On August 11, infection with measles was confirmed in the case. As of now, the case has recovered and been removed from isolation. During the case’s incubation period (July 21 and August 1, 2016), he visited Bangkok, Thailand, his maternal grandmother’s house in New Taipei City, and his own house in Hsinchu City. Based on his travel history and the period of stay, it is determined that he contracted measles overseas.

According to the epidemiological investigation, the boy had not completed the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is why he became infected with measles and posed the risk of spreading the virus to others. Hence, parents are urged to ensure routine vaccination of their children in a timely manner in order to ensure the health of the children and others. To prevent further transmission of the disease, the health authority has implemented a number of prevention measures and identified 137 contacts to monitor and follow up.

During the infectious period (August 4 and 12, 2016), besides seeking medical assistance at a clinic and a hospital, the case took the public transportation to a playpark. At 3 pm on August 4, he visited BabyBoss (職業體驗任意城) located on the 7^th floor of Living Mall (京華城). During 5:46pm and 6:11pm, he took the High Speed Rail (HSR) Train No. 1545 from Banqiao Station to Hsinchu Station. During 6:17 pm and 6:37 pm on the same day, he took the Taiwan Railway Train No. 1757 from Liujia Station to Hsinchu Station. In addition, during August 7 and 10, he stayed at Ambassador Hotel Kaohsiung. During his stay at the hotel, he briefly stopped by the Sky Lounge located on the 20^th floor and had breakfast at the restaurant located on the 1^st floor of the hotel in the morning of August 8. As a result, people who have visited the aforementioned places during the aforementioned periods of time are potential contacts and are thus urged to conduct self-health management for 18 days after the last possible contact with the case. If suspected symptoms develop, please put on a mask immediately, seek prompt medical attention and voluntarily notify the physician of relevant exposure history.

Thus far this year, a total of 12 measles cases, including 5 indigenous cases (3 clustered cases at the airport and 2 cases with unknown source of infection) and 7 imported cases from China (2), Hong Kong (1), Vietnam (1), India (1), Japan (1), and Thailand (1), have been confirmed. Last year, a total of 29 measles cases, including 23 indigenous cases and 6 imported cases from China, were confirmed in Taiwan.

Taiwan CDC reminds that vaccination remains the best way to prevent measles. In Taiwan, the existing routine childhood vaccination schedule recommends a dose of MMR vaccine to children 12 months of age and another dose to first graders in elementary schools. Unvaccinated infants and children, those who do not receive vaccine in a timely manner and those who have never been infected with measles are high-risk groups. Parents are urged to ensure timely vaccination of children under one year old and those who have not completed the MMR vaccine series and avoid bringing unvaccinated children to the affected areas in order to prevent infection. People who are unsure of their infection and vaccination status are advised to seek their healthcare provider to determine their need for self-paid MMR vaccination. If symptoms pertaining to measels infection such as fever, fatigue, nasopharyngitis and obviously swollen lymph nodes behind the ears, and generalized irregular papules, joint pain or arthritis develop after returning to Taiwan from affected areas, please put on a mask, seek immediate medical attention, and voluntarily inform the physician of relevant travel and exposure history. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).