Measles Imported by Returning U.S. Travellers Aged 6-23 Months, 2001-2011

Tuesday, 24th of December 2013 Print
[source]Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)[|source]

The frequency of imported measles among children aged 6--23 months into the USA also suggests that parents and clinicians might not be aware of recommendations to administer MMR vaccine to children as young as age 6 months when they are living or traveling abroad. The parents of one of these 2011 patients asked their pediatrician about vaccination for their child before traveling and were advised that it was unnecessary. Travelers to the WHO European Region should be aware that measles is endemic in several countries of that region, which was the source of 39% of U.S. measles imports during 2005--2008. 

In this report, none of the seven US children aged 6--23 months with imported measles in the first 2 months of 2011 had received MMR vaccine, and only three of the 47 with imported measles during 2001--2010 had received MMR vaccine. The reasons for non-vaccination of children often are unknown, but contributing to these might be a lack of perceived risk for severe measles, which resulted in the hospitalization of four of these seven children aged 6--23 months with measles reported in 2011. More details on this technical update are available at:  http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6013a1.htm

 

Abstract

In the first 2 months of 2011, CDC received reports of seven imported measles cases among returning U.S. travelers aged 6-23 months; four required hospitalization. Young children are at greater risk for severe measles, death, or sequelae such as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Although all seven children had been eligible for vaccination before travel, none had received measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, the only measles-containing vaccine currently available in the United States. To characterize imported measles cases reported in the first 2 months of 2011 in U.S. travelers aged 6-23 months and compare them with cases in recent years, CDC analyzed data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) for the period January 2001-February 2011. The results of that analysis indicated that, during January-February 2011, a total of 13 imported cases were reported in U.S. residents, including the seven children aged 6-23 months. During 2001-2010, a total of 159 imported cases were reported in U.S. residents, including 47 (range: 3-8 per year) in children aged 6-23 months (three of whom had been vaccinated before travel). Because measles remains endemic in much of the world, international travelers should be up-to-date on vaccinations. In accordance with the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations, U.S. children who travel or live abroad should be vaccinated at an earlier age than those living in the United States because of the greater risk for exposure to measles outside the United States, and particularly outside the Americas.

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