Sustained outbreak of measles in New South Wales 2012: risks for measles elimination in Australia.

Thursday, 5th of May 2016

Western Pac Surveill Response J. 2015 Jan 30;5(1):14-20. doi: 10.5365/WPSAR.2013.4.4.002. eCollection 2014.

Sustained outbreak of measles in New South Wales 2012: risks for measles elimination in Australia.

Najjar Z¹ Hope K¹ Clark P² Nguyen O² Rosewell A³ Conaty S¹.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

On 7 April 2012 a recently returned traveller from Thailand to Australia was confirmed to have measles. An outbreak of measles subsequently occurred in the state of New South Wales prompting a sustained and coordinated response by public health authorities. The last confirmed case presented on 29 November 2012. This report describes the outbreak and its characteristics.

METHODS:

Cases were investigated following Australian protocols including case interviews and assessment of contacts for post-exposure prophylaxis.

RESULTS:

Of the 168 cases identified most occurred in south-western and western Sydney (92.9% n = 156). Notable features of this outbreak were the disproportionately high number of cases in the 10-19-year-old age group (29.2% n = 49) the overrepresentation among people of Pacific Islander descent (21.4% n = 36) and acquisition in health-care facilities (21.4% n = 36). There were no reported cases of encephalitis and no deaths.

DISCUSSION:

This was the largest outbreak of measles in Australia since 1997. Its occurrence highlights the need to maintain vigilant surveillance systems for early detection and containment of measles cases and to maintain high population immunity to measles through routine childhood immunization. Vaccination campaigns targeting susceptible groups may also be necessary to sustain Australias measles elimination status.