The Unfinished Measles Immunization Agenda

Abstract

Despite achieving and sustaining global measles vaccination coverage of about 80% over the past decade, worldwide measles remains the fifth leading cause of mortality among children aged <5 years. In May 2002, the United Nations Special Session on Children endorsed the goal of reducing measles deaths by half by 2005. Countries and World Health Organization (WHO) regions that adopted aggressive measles control or elimination strategies have shown excellent results. In 2001, countries in the Americas reported an all time low of 537 confirmed measles cases. Substantial progress in measles control has also been achieved in the WHO Western Pacific Region, in seven southern African countries, and in selected countries in WHO European, Eastern Mediterranean, and Southeast Asian regions. The ongoing measles disease burden and availability of safe and effective measles mortality reduction strategies make a compelling case to complete the unfinished agenda of measles immunization.

Estimating transmission intensity for a measles epidemic in Niamey, Niger: lessons for intervention

“…Large-scale mass vaccination campaigns in anticipation of future epidemics are an effective way to rapidly bring measles transmission under control and help to provide a second vaccination opportunity for many children. However, the impact of these campaigns is likely to be limited unless there is a strong routine immunization programme preventing the build-up of numbers of susceptible children (Strebel et al, 2003;WHO, 2004a). A combination of improving routine coverage, catchup campaigns and strengthening surveillance systems are necessary to achieve long-term reductions in morbidity and mortality.…”

Identification of Th0 cells responding to measles virus

“…In such countries, current vaccine efficacy is not as high as in developed countries, even in communities with high rates of vaccine administration. In addition to improvements in current vaccine delivery, emphasis has been placed on the development of a new generation of vaccines that have greater efficacy [1][2][3][4][5]. The rational design of such a vaccine requires a detailed understanding of the immune response to measles virus (MV) [6 -8].…”

The dynamics of measles in sub-Saharan Africa

“…2). However, measles remains a leading cause of vaccine-preventable death in children under 5 yr in much of the world (particularly parts of sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia) 4 . The continued persistence of measles in these low income, high birth rate countries reflects the challenges of achieving high vaccine coverage in areas with limited public health infrastructure.…”