Slow Progress in Finalizing Measles and Rubella Elimination in The European Region

Wednesday, 10th of February 2016

Slow Progress in Finalizing Measles and Rubella Elimination in The European Region

1. 1.       Robin Biellik1׳*׳ 
2. 2.       Iria Davidkin2׳ 
3. 3.       Susanna Esposito3׳ 
4. 4.       Andrey Lobanov4׳
5. 5.       Mira Kojouharova5׳ 
6. 6.       Günter Pfaff6׳ 
7. 7.       José Ignacio Santos7׳ 
8. 8.       John Simpson8׳
9. 9.       Myriam Ben Mamou9׳ 
10. 10.    Robb Butler10׳ 
11. 11.    Sergei Deshevoi11׳ 
12. 12.    Shahin Huseynov12׳
13. 13.    Dragan Jankovic13 and 
14. 14.    Abigail Shefer14

+Author Affiliations

1. ¹Robin Biellik (rbiellik@gmail.com) is a retired World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist living in Geneva׳ Switzerland.
2. ²Iria Davidkin is a retired senior researcher in the Viral Infections Unit׳ National Institute for Health and Welfare׳ in Helsinki׳ Finland.
3. ³Susanna Esposito is head of the Pediatric Highly Intensive Care Unit׳ Università degli Studi di Milano׳ Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico׳ in Milan׳ Italy.
4. ⁴Andrey Lobanov is a retired WHO medical officer living in Moscow׳ the Russian Federation.
5. ⁵Mira Kojouharova is deputy head of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases׳ Ministry of Health׳ in Sofia׳ Bulgaria.
6. ⁶Günter Pfaff is head of the Department of Epidemiology and Health Reporting in the Baden-Württemberg State Health Office׳ in Stuttgart׳ Germany.
7. ⁷José Ignacio Santos is a professor in the Faculty of Medicine׳ Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México׳ in Mexico City.
8. ⁸John Simpson is interim director of the Division of Emergency Preparedness׳ Resilience׳ and Response׳ Public Health England׳ in Salisbury.
9. ⁹Myriam Ben Mamou is coordinator of the Measles and Rubella Laboratory׳ Division of Communicable Diseases׳ Health Security׳ and Environment׳ WHO Regional Office for Europe׳ in Copenhagen׳ Denmark.
10. ¹⁰Robb Butler is program manager in the Division of Communicable Diseases׳ Health Security׳ and Environment׳ WHO Regional Office for Europe.
11. ¹¹Sergei Deshevoi is a medical officer in the Division of Communicable Diseases׳ Health Security׳ and Environment׳ WHO Regional Office for Europe.
12. ¹²Shahin Huseynov is a technical officer in the Division of Communicable Diseases׳ Health Security׳ and Environment׳ WHO Regional Office for Europe.
13. ¹³Dragan Jankovic is a technical officer in the Division of Communicable Diseases׳ Health Security׳ and Environment׳ WHO Regional Office for Europe.
14. ¹⁴Abigail Shefer is a medical officer in the Global Immunization Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention׳ in Atlanta׳ Georgia. At the time of this work׳ she was a technical officer in the Division of Communicable Diseases׳ Health Security׳ and Environment׳ in the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
15. ↵*Corresponding author

All countries in the World Health Organization European Region committed to eliminating endemic transmission of measles and rubella by 2015׳ and disease incidence has decreased dramatically. However there was little progress between 2012 and 2013 and the goal will likely not be achieved on time. Genuine political commitment׳ increased technical capacity and greater public awareness are urgently needed especially in Western Europe.

Find the full article on http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/35/2/322.short

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