Measles resurges in Italy: preliminary data from September 2007 to May 2008

A Filia; M De Crescenzo; T Seyler; A Bella; M L Ciofi Degli Atti; L Nicoletti; F Magurano; S Salmaso

doi:10.2807/ese.13.29.18928-en

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Measles resurges in Italy: preliminary data from September 2007 to May 2008
A Filia¹ , M De Crescenzo^1,2 , T Seyler^1,3 , A Bella¹ , M L Ciofi Degli Atti^1,4 , L Nicoletti¹ , F Magurano¹ , S Salmaso¹
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Affiliations: ¹ National Health Institute (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS), Rome, Italy ² Postgraduate training program in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy ³ European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden ⁴ Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy

Correspondence:
A Filia
antonietta.filia iss.it
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Citation style for this article: Filia A, De Crescenzo M, Seyler T, Bella A, Ciofi Degli Atti M L, Nicoletti L, Magurano F, Salmaso S. Measles resurges in Italy: preliminary data from September 2007 to May 2008. Euro Surveill. 2008;13(29):pii=18928. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.13.29.18928-en Received: 11 Jul 2008

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Abstract

Following an incidence rate of 1/100,000 inhabitants in 2006 [1], Italy has been facing an upsurge of measles cases since September 2007, with outbreaks being reported in various regions. In Italy, measles vaccination is currently offered free of charge as combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. The current national vaccination schedule recommends two doses of MMR vaccine, given respectively at 11-12 months and 5-6 years of age. Although childhood vaccination coverage has increased in recent years, reaching the national average of 88% in 2006 (source: Ministry of Health), with some regional variability (Figure 1), it is still below the target of 95% set by the National Measles Elimination Plan (MEP) launched in 2003 [2], and outbreaks continue to occur.