An extremely contagious disease that can generate many serious complications such as loss of sight, severe breathing difficulties, or even damage to the liver and kidneys, measles can only be avoided by vaccination with two doses of vaccine in children from 1 year and in all young adults born since 1980.
The objective of this campaign is to encourage young people over the age of 15 to get vaccinated in order to achieve 95% vaccination coverage, the rate from which the epidemic can be stopped.
From mid-October, the health authorities will launch an awareness campaign aimed at young adults aged 15-30. The opportunity for everyone to question their status with regard to the disease and to know the recommendations for the catch-up vaccine for those under 31.
Internet users can consult the site Info-measles.fr to obtain information on the situation of the epidemic, but also on the symptoms and the complications inherent in the disease.
Some 21,000 cases of measles, including nearly 14,600 in the first eight months of 2011, have been observed in France since the start of the epidemic in 2008, compared to around forty in 2007.
