Seroprotection rates of vaccine-preventable diseases among newly arrived Eritrean asylum seekers in Switzerland: a cross-sectional study

Staehelin, Cornelia; Chernet, Afona; Sydow, Véronique; Piso, Rein Jan; Suter‐Riniker, Franziska; Funez, Sabine; Nickel, Beatrice; Paris, Daniel; Labhardt, Niklaus Daniel

doi:10.1093/jtm/taz035

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Two studies from Central Europe with different refugee populations found lower immunity; a study on Eritrean refugees in Switzerland found 76.2% to be immune [23] and a study from Luxembourg from 2012 primarily involving refugees from Balkan found 73% to be immune [24] The low immunity in refugees from Balkan was also found in a study from Sweden, where only 68 % of immigrants/refugees from the former Yugoslavia and Albania were immune. [25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Recent surveys from other European countries have found that measles immunity among adult asylum seekers was relatively high with seroprevalences ranging between 73 and92.6%, although not sufficient to reach herd immunity,. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Only one of these studies involved seroprevalence results from Scandinavia and this study included adults only [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Are refugees arriving in Denmark an under-immunised group for measles? A cross-sectional serology study

Hvass

Nørredam

Sodemann

et al. 2020

Vaccine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundIn 2018, Europe faced the highest number of Measles cases in a decade. In Denmark, the childhood vaccination programme has a coverage of approximately 90%. To eliminate the disease, vaccine coverage needs to be above the herd immunity threshold of 95%. This can be even more difficult to obtain, when vaccination programmes break down due to war, natural disasters etc. and concern has been raised, that unvaccinated refugees could facilitate spread of measles when migrating. MethodsIn order to address this concern, we tested 513 newly arrived refugees and family reunified refugees aged between 0 and 70 years for measles IgG antibodies. The participants were tested as part of a general health assessment between May 2016 and October 2018. In the cohort, 50% were males and the majority came from Syria (55%). ResultsWe found that 85% of the total group of refugees had immunity against measles. The 15% lacking antibodies, were evenly distributed between the various countries of origin . Moreover, we found immunity to increase with age, leaving young children most vulnerable to infection, 79.9% (<19 years) vs 89.1% (>=19 years).Interview questions on previous vaccinations did not correlate to serology. ConclusionRefugees have measles immunity slightly lower than the host population.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are refugees arriving in Denmark an under-immunised group for measles? A cross-sectional serology study

Hvass

Nørredam

Sodemann

et al. 2020

Vaccine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although Europe has seen a huge influx of migrants from low-to middle-income countries [12] and such migrants usually have a lower seroprotection for all vaccine preventable diseases including measles [13,14], our findings underpin that migrants are not the main drivers for measles resurgence in Europe. The number of migrants is possibly too low to account for such resurgence and is far surpassed by the number of international tourist arrivals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…With the increasing number of migrants to Europe from countries where measles virus is potentially circulating [12], there is concern that such migration could contribute to the measles resurgence in this region. Indeed, measles seroprotection in migrants is often suboptimal [13][14][15]. Measles outbreaks in migrant populations have been reported [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measles Resurgence in Europe: Migrants and Travellers are not the Main Drivers

Leong¹,

Wilder-Smith²

2019

JEGH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Measles is a highly transmissible viral infection that may lead to serious illness, lifelong complications, and death. As there is no animal reservoir for measles, measles resurgence is due to human movement of viremic persons. Therefore, some have blamed the enormous migration into Europe in the past 5 years for the measles resurgence in this region. We set out to determine the main driver for measles resurgence in Europe by assessing vaccine coverage rates and economic status in European countries, number of migrants, and travel volumes. Data on measles vaccine coverage rates with two vaccine doses of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) [Measles Containing Vaccine (MCV)2] and total number of measles cases in 2017 for Europe, including Eastern European countries, were obtained, in addition to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and number of migrants and tourist arrivals. The outcome measured, incidence of measles per 100,000, was log transformed and subsequently analyzed using multiple linear regression, along with predictor variables: number of international migrants, GDP per capita, tourist arrivals, and vaccine coverage. The final model was interpreted by exponentiating the regression coefficients. Incidence of measles was highest in Romania (46.1/100,000), followed by Ukraine (10.8/100,000) and Greece (8.7/100,000). MCV2 coverage in these countries is less than 84%, with lowest coverage rate (75%) reported in Romania. Only vaccine coverage appears to be the significant predictor in the model (p < 0.001) for incidence of measles even after adjusting for international migrants, international tourist arrivals, and GDP per capita. With one unit increase in vaccination coverage, the incidence of measles decreased by 18% [95% confidence interval (CI): 10-25]. Our results showed that number of migrants and international tourist arrivals into any of the European countries were not the drivers for increased measles cases. Countries with high vaccine coverage rates regardless of economic status did not experience a resurgence of measles, even if the number of migrants or incoming travellers was high. The statistically significant sole driver was vaccine coverage rates. These analyses reemphasize the importance of strategies to improve national measles vaccination to achieve coverage greater than 95%.

show abstract

“…Additionally, displaced populations may not have benefited from universal vaccination programs, as has been documented in Rohingya refugees 26 . Several studies from European countries receiving refugees and asylum seekers show that seroprevalence of vaccine‐preventable diseases in these populations or subgroup populations do not meet levels required to confer herd immunity 27‐30 . When displaced populations with varying levels of immunization come together along migration routes and into crowded camps, highly contagious vaccine‐preventable diseases like measles (Figure 1) and varicella (Figure 2) can spread very quickly.…”

Section: Skin Diseases Associated With Suboptimal Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Skin diseases in displaced populations: a review of contributing factors, challenges, and approaches to care

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There are 70.8 million persons displaced worldwide due to war, persecution, and violence. Eighty percent of displaced persons reside in low-and middle-income countries with limited healthcare resources. Cutaneous diseases are commonly reported among displaced persons owing to numerous interrelated factors such as inadequate housing, overcrowding, food insecurity, environmental exposures, violence including torture, and breakdown of healthcare infrastructure. Diagnosis and management of these conditions, as well as an understanding of the context in which they present, is crucial to providing dermatologic care for displaced populations worldwide. Herein, we define displaced populations and, within this context, review the epidemiology of skin diseases, discuss pertinent skin conditions, examine challenges to care provision, and present approaches for improving dermatologic care. Inflammatory and communicable infectious disorders are the most common skin diseases seen in displaced populations. Other relevant conditions include skin manifestations of heat injuries, cold injuries, immersion foot syndromes, macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence. Provision of dermatologic care to displaced populations is hampered by limited diagnostic and therapeutic resources and specialist expertise. Medical screening for cutaneous disorders, context-relevant dermatology training, and telemedicine are potential tools to improve diagnosis and management of skin diseases in displaced populations. (UNHCR) estimates that nearly one person every 2 seconds escapes war, persecution, or terror, leaving everything behind. About 80% of refugees are hosted in low-and middle-income countries, which provide, for example, protection and space for refugee camps and for which the presence of large numbers of refugees brings a significant strain on the infrastructure. 2 Among the nearly 26 million refugees in 2018, 57% came from three countries: Syria (6.7 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), and South Sudan (2.3 million). 1 Their neighbors, Turkey (3.7 million), Pakistan (1.4 million), Uganda (1.2 million), and Sudan (1.1 million), are among the top refugee hosting countries. 1 Ongoing crises worldwide have led to internal displacement of 4.3 million people in Yemen, 3 flight of 742,000 Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh where many find themselves stateless, 4 and departure of an estimated 4 million Venezuelans 5 to other Latin American countries. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa host greater than 26% of the world's refugees. 6 Less than 1% of refugees transfer from the host country to a third country that has agreed to admit them for permanent resettlement. 7 For displaced persons, inadequate housing, overcrowding, food insecurity, environmental exposures, violence, and poor access to health care are constant threats to achieving and maintaining health. Cutaneous diseases are commonly encountered problems in displaced populations. Diagnosis and management of these conditions, as well as an under...

show abstract

Seroprotection rates of vaccine-preventable diseases among newly arrived Eritrean asylum seekers in Switzerland: a cross-sectional study

Cited by 19 publications

References 10 publications

Are refugees arriving in Denmark an under-immunised group for measles? A cross-sectional serology study

Are refugees arriving in Denmark an under-immunised group for measles? A cross-sectional serology study

Measles Resurgence in Europe: Migrants and Travellers are not the Main Drivers

Skin diseases in displaced populations: a review of contributing factors, challenges, and approaches to care

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About