Target dates for measles elimination set in all world regions

Since 1980, coverage with one dose of measles vaccine has increased and there has been a 94% reduction in measles cases globally, according to a global measles update presented at the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

In addition, since September 2013 when Southeast Asia adopted a plan for measles elimination, all six regions of the world have set a date for elimination of the disease.

According to James Goodson, MPH, a CDC epidemiologist, the World Health Assembly set three targets to achieve by 2015: coverage with measles vaccine of at least 90%; incidence of measles of less than 5 per million population and a measles mortality reduction of 95% compared to the level in 2000. From 2000 to 2012, there was a 77% decrease in incidence and a 78% decrease in measles deaths.

James Goodson

“We are short of the 2015 target of 95% reduction, but we’ve still seen 13.8 million deaths averted through measles vaccination since 2000,” Goodson said.

Globally, coverage with the first dose of measles vaccine has leveled off at 84% and there are still three regions with coverage less than 90%: Africa, Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions. Global coverage with a second dose of measles vaccine, recommended by WHO, is low at 56%, Goodson said.

“This is primarily due to the number of countries that have yet to introduce routine second dose measles vaccine, though the number of countries implementing this is increasing,” Goodson said.

In addition to routine delivery, 33 countries also implemented mass vaccination campaigns with measles vaccine in which nearly 200 million children were vaccinated. Additionally, three-quarters of these campaigns provided other vaccines, mainly rubella and oral poliovirus vaccines.

“Endemic measles and rubella have been eliminated in the Americas, which continue to be the model for achieving measles and rubella elimination around the world,” Goodson said.

The Western Pacific region is experiencing an increase in cases in 2014, mainly due to a large outbreak in the Philippines. From October 2013 to March 2014, there have been more than 26,000 suspected measles cases, 6,000 of which were laboratory-confirmed.

There were also 100 reported deaths. The outbreak peaked in January when there were 8,000 cases. The majority of cases were among children younger than 5 who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. In addition, 42% of the confirmed cases were in the metro Manila area.