Measles elimination in South Korea was approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014.However, small sporadic outbreaks of measles continue to occur, mostly driven by imported cases [1].Measles introduced from abroad spreads to susceptible populations, such as infants or young adults who are insufficiently vaccinated or in cases where the vaccine effect has waned. The number of foreignborn individuals in South Korea has increased sharply (1,271,807 foreigners with long-term stay in 2019), of which approximately 10% are marriage migrants [2]. Marriage migration has increased rapidly since the mid-1990s as the government officially encouraged international marriages between foreign women and Korean men to resolve the rural bride shortage. Earlier, most foreign brides were Chosunjok (ethnic Koreans from China), but recently, their country of origin has diversified. As of January 2019, out of a total of 132,748 foreign-born women married to Korean men and living in South Korea, the most common country of origin was China (34.7%), followed by Vietnam (30.4%), Japan (9.4%), Philippines (8.6%), Cambodia (3.2%), Thailand (3.3%), and others (10.3%) [3]. Measles vaccination rates worldwide have increased over time, but are still lower in low-or middle-income countries than in developed countries. The estimated first-dose measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) coverage in Vietnam was 84.4% to 93.3% between 2000 and 2019, but the second-dose measlescontaining vaccine (MCV2) administration only started in 2007 [4,5]. The estimated MCV1 coverage in Cambodia was 63.7% to 91.1% between 200063.7% to 91.1% between and 201963.7% to 91.1% between , and MCV2 administration only started in 2012. These suboptimal measles vaccine coverage rates in the countries of origin of marriage migrant women suggest the possible influx of measles-susceptible populations into South Korea. Since marriage migrant women frequently become pregnant, give birth, take care of children, and travel overseas to their country of origin, immunity to measles becomes particularly important. However, thus far, there has been no information regarding measles immunity in marriage migrant women in South Korea.
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