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Outbreak of measles in a teenage school population: the need to immunize susceptible adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

D. Morse ,
M. O'shea ,
G. Hamilton ,
N. Soltanpoor ,
G. Leece ,
E. Miller  and
D. Brown
D. Morse
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
M. O'shea
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
G. Hamilton
Affiliation:
South East Thames Regional Health Authority, Oak Lodge, David Salomon's Estate, Broomhill Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN3 OTG
N. Soltanpoor
Affiliation:
PHLS Statistics Unit, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
G. Leece
Affiliation:
East Sussex Health Authority, Rutherford Business Park, Marley Lane, Battle, East Sussex, TN33 OE2
E. Miller
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
D. Brown
Affiliation:
PHLS Virus Reference Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT
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An outbreak of measles occurred in a community school and the surrounding area in Crowborough, East Sussex, UK, from December 1992 to February 1993. There were 96 suspected cases reported: 66 cases among 1673 students at one school and 30 community cases. The majority of suspected cases were in those aged 11–17 (78%), 2 cases occurred in infants < 1 year old and 8 cases in adults aged 18 years or over. Data collected on 60 (91 %) of the 66 suspect school cases showed 56 (93%) had an illness which met a case definition of measles. Eighteen had confirmatory IgM measles antibody. Two cases were hospitalized. The local percentage uptake for measles immunization for the school age years affected varied between 64 % and 84 %. A survey of parents showed that approximately 74% of the students attending the school had a history of measles immunization. The immunization rates reported by parents for children who developed measles was 21 %. (29 % based on GP records) compared with 77 % for those who remained well. Vaccine efficacy was estimated to be 92%. This outbreak, along with others recently reported in older unimmunized children in the UK, reinforces the need for catch-up immunization programmes to reach this susceptible group of adolescents.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 113 , Issue 2 , October 1994 , pp. 355 - 365
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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