Epidemiology of Measles in France Between 2011 and 2018

In the wake of the major measles outbreak that occurred in France between 2008 and 2011, this report presents the results of surveillance based on mandatory disease reporting between October 1, 2011, and September 30, 2018, taking into account the epidemiological dynamics of measles in successive waves, from October of one year to September of the following year. Between October 2011 and September 2018, 5,311 cases were reported and included in the analysis. The highest incidence of reported cases was among children under 1 year of age, reaching a rate of 30.7 cases per 100,000 children during the last wave in 2017–2018. The median age was 15 years. Among all cases, 1,279 (24%) were hospitalized, including 244 for pneumonia and 13 for encephalitis. Four cases died, ranging in age from 16 to 32 years. While genotype D4 was the predominant strain circulating in 2011, since 2014 genotypes D8 and B3 have been identified almost exclusively in France, as is observed in the rest of Europe. A supplementary analysis of mortality data from the Center for Epidemiology on Medical Causes of Death at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (CépiDc-Inserm), covering the period from October 2008 to September 2018, identified 23 deaths linked to an acute episode of the infection. Six deaths due to subacute sclerosing panencephalitis linked to an acute infection prior to 2008 were identified. These data show that, as of late 2018, there remained in France a sufficient reservoir of susceptible individuals to sustain virus transmission, particularly among young adults. Catch-up vaccination, primarily for the second dose in children and adolescents, has improved in recent years, but vaccination coverage, including that of infants, remains below the 95% threshold required for the elimination of the disease. In the medium term, the Ministry of Health’s decision to make infant vaccination mandatory starting in 2018 should help achieve this goal.

Author(s): Antona Denise, Dina Julia, Soing-Altrach Sophan, Aït-Belghiti Fatima, Georges Scarlett, Maine Catherine, Lévy-Bruhl Daniel

Publishing year: 2019

Pages: 218-227

Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2019, n° 13, p. 218-227

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