Weekly releases (1997–2007) - Volume 6, Issue 10, 07 March 2002

On 27 January 2002 an aeroplane carrying ill holidaymakers, most of them with gastrointestinal symptoms, landed in Dublin, Ireland. The flight, originating from Toulouse, carried holidaymakers who had spent the week of 20-27 January on a skiing holiday in Andorra. A second flight from Toulouse, also carrying holidaymakers returning from Andorra, landed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, two hours after the Dublin flight. Many of the passengers on board this flight were also ill.

A case of congenital rubella (CR) reported in the Lancet reminds us of the devastating effects of rubella infection in pregnancy (1). This infant was born in London to a Bangladeshi woman who arrived in the United Kingdom (UK) at 20 weeks of pregnancy. Although the baby was born prematurely at 31 weeks, CR was not suspected until bilateral cataracts were noted at two months.

The purpose of measles vaccination is to protect from clinical measles infection and its complications. In the Netherlands, groups of people who decline vaccination (vaccine decliners) are an important factor in the occurrence of regular measles epidemics. In the most recent epidemic in 1999-2000, 3292 cases were reported, most of whom were unvaccinated for religious reasons.

This study was initiated by a recent large measles outbreak in districts of the Netherlands where up to half of the population decline vaccination on religious grounds. In this context, when occasional epidemics are inevitable, the authors seek to identify short and long term strategies to minimise the number of cases among vaccine acceptors.