Highlights from the Midi-Pyrénées Regional Health Agency - Severe cases of measles in Midi-Pyrénées

Since 2009, Midi-Pyrénées, like the rest of metropolitan France, has faced three successive waves of measles epidemics of increasing severity, the last of which (from October 2010 to June 2011) totaled more than 1,000 reported cases. While reports were scarce during the last six months of 2011, since January 2012, their number has been rising slowly and steadily, and it is likely that the actual number of cases is much higher (estimated to be more than double) given underreporting. Among these cases, 95% were unvaccinated.

Of the 175 cases reported since January 2012, 40% were adults aged 20 and older. Since 2009, the proportion of adults among cases has been steadily increasing; the median age of cases rose from 11.5 years in 2009 to 15 years in 2011. Complications from measles are most common in adults and in children under one year of age: since 2009, 15% of patients aged 20 and older and 18% of those under one year of age (compared to 10% of patients aged 1 to 19) have experienced complications (pneumonia, hepatitis, encephalitis, etc.). One of the serious complications is measles encephalitis: three cases occurred in the Midi-Pyrénées region in 2011, and two cases in 2012 (June and July). [...]