Eurosurveillance - Volume 15, Issue 50, 16 December 2010

In September and October 2010, 13 primary measles cases were identified among unvaccinated persons aged between 9 and 32 years (median: 16.5) in 11 districts in Germany. All cases had attended meetings in Taizé, France. This outbreak illustrates the risk of long distance spread of infectious diseases associated with international mass gatherings, and underlines the importance of closing immunisation gaps against measles by vaccinating non-immune adolescents and young adults. .

In 2010, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in France has been experiencing a measles outbreak with at least 310 cases among the general population, which included 28 cases among healthcare workers (9% of all reported cases). There is, however, substantial underreporting in the notification systems of cases in both populations. .

We report an increase in the incidence of measles in a population with consistently high and improving immunisation coverage in Ferrara province, northern Italy. During the first six months of 2010, 19 cases were confirmed, 10 of which were hospitalised. General practitioners, paediatricians and local healthcare authorities were alerted about the outbreak and asked to notify all suspected cases. We need to further increase immunisation coverage and to maintain and implement the monitoring system.

On 13 October 2010, the Andalusian Epidemiological Surveillance Network was notified of one case of measles. By 15 November 2010, 25 confirmed cases of measles had been reported from Granada, southern Spain, of whom 22 were unvaccinated children under the age of 15 years. This ongoing outbreak involved a subpopulation with low vaccination coverage and parents with ideological objections to vaccination. As of 7 December the number of cases has reached 59.

Since the introduction of a two-dose MMR vaccination regime the incidence of mumps virus infections has substantially declined. However, mumps outbreaks have recently been reported from several countries. Here we report an ongoing mumps outbreak in Germany. Between 1 July and 31 October, 115 infections have been laboratory-confirmed. Reported complications include one case of meningitis and 21 cases of orchitis, suggesting a high rate of complications. We suggest a vaccination campaign for young adults in northern Bavaria to limit severe mumps infections.