Measles Continuing Risk for Travelers.
Two-thirds of 94 measles cases reported to travel clinics on six continents from 2000 to 2014 occurred in the last four years, indicating that measles remains a continuing risk for travelers, according to a new report co-authored by a School of Public Health researcher.
The study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and co-authored by David Hamer, professor of global health and of medicine at the School of Medicine, found that the majority of measles patients who were reported by 30 travel clinics were exposed in Asia, followed by Africa and Europe.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause pneumonia, encephalitis, and death. Introduction of measles-containing vaccines and global vaccination campaigns have greatly reduced the number of measles cases worldwide, but virus circulation continues in many parts of the world and has re-emerged in some areas where it had been eliminated, the research team said.
The study found that only one-quarter of the clinic measles patients sought a pre-travel medical consult, where measles and other routine vaccinations could be administered. Given that low percentage, “primary care practitioners should ensure that their patients are protected against measles,” the study recommends. Eighty-seven percent of the reported cases were in adults ages 18 to 45.
The study is the latest from GeoSentinel, a multi-country network studying travel-related illnesses. Hamer, the principal investigator on GeoSentinel, said the study suggests that more efforts are needed to reduce travel-associated measles, including public health messaging and more attention to “catch-up measles immunization of susceptible adults.”
The most commonly reported exposures were in Thailand (15 percent of total), India (10 percent), and Singapore (10 percent).
GeoSentinel includes researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from hospitals and universities in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, Singapore, and other countries.