MEASLES ELIMINATION: PROGRESS, CHALLENGES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RUBELLA CONTROL

Sunday, 4th of May 2014

[source]Expert Review of Vaccines[|source]

As interest in measles elimination increases, there are calls to include rubella in measles control and elimination activities. Recently, GAVI has made funding available for MR catch-up campaigns in countries that can achieve 80% immunization coverage (via routine, or routine and campaigns); and can finance the introduction of rubella vaccine into their routine program immediately following the catch-up campaign.

In this report, the authors outline the princiles of measles and rubella control/elimination, review progress towards measles control/elimination by region and outline the current challenges to attainment of measles elimination. The report concludes that substantial progress has been made and measles mortality reduction is highly cost-effective. Interestingly, most of the estimated reduction was due to increases in routine coverage with at least one dose of measles vaccine and stagnation in routine immunization coverage is responsible for the recent upsurges in reported measles cases. More details are accessible at: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/full/10.1586/14760584.2013.814847

 

 

ABSTRACT

Measles and rubella are major vaccine-preventable causes of child mortality and disability. They have been eliminated from the Americas and some other regions have also come close to elimination. In this paper, we review regional progress toward measles and rubella control/elimination goals, describe the recent epidemiology of these infections and discuss challenges to achieving the goals. Globally, measles vaccination is estimated to prevent nearly 2 million deaths each year. Despite this remarkable progress, large measles outbreaks have occurred in recent years, often involving older persons who were not vaccinated in earlier years. Such an occurrence would be particularly damaging for rubella control programmes as it could lead to peaks in congenital rubella syndrome. Challenges to achieving and sustaining high vaccination coverage include civil conflict, weak health systems, geographic, cultural and economic barriers to reaching certain population groups and inadequate monitoring and use of data for action. Countries and regions aiming to eliminate measles and control rubella urgently need to improve the implementation and monitoring of both routine and mass vaccination campaign strategies.