Measles immunisation

In a leading article Mary Ramsey (Public Health, England) discusses the important and ever relevant topic of measles immunisation and the legacy of low vaccine coverage. The initial focus is to remind/educate the reader of the seriousness of measles infection (150 000 deaths per year worldwide) and the importance and potential success of widespread immunisation. Measles immunisation was introduced in the UK in 1968 (the MMR being introduced in 1988) with high initial coverage (>90%, dramatic fall in cases of measles) until the early 2000s when because of a potential link with autism uptake fell significantly (<80% in under 2's in London, 2003/4). This has since largely recovered (92.4% under 2 years, 2012) but the legacy—discussed at length in the article—is the unvaccinated cohort and the large outbreaks in populations with low coverage in 2006/7 and since then in 2011/2012 a sustained increase in cases of measles (1920 confirmed cases in England, 2012; 1163 in the first 5 months of 2013) with a shift in age group affected towards 10 to 14 year olds. The crucial importance of catch up immunisation is emphasised, supported by the recent MMR catch up programme initiated in the UK. …