Between 2008 and 2012 a major measles epidemic caused ten deaths from pneumonia, myocarditis or encephalitis in France. Vaccination coverage remains too low.
“Routine measles-mumps-rubella vaccination is the only way to allow the elimination of these diseases”, recalled the Health Insurance in June 2013. So, to encourage the vaccination of children and catch-up in adolescents, the latter takes fully responsible for the vaccine up to the age of 17. Because these diseases still strike. Between 2008 and 2011, a large-scale measles epidemic affected France, in particular the Midi-Pyrénées region. Despite this alert, a study conducted by the Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS) revealed on Tuesday that vaccination coverage is still too low in the country, including in regions already singled out.
The Midi-Pyrénées region is lagging behind on the 24-month vaccination …
The objective set by the World Health Organization for the European region is to eliminate measles and congenital rubella by 2015. It is therefore necessary to achieve a vaccination coverage rate of 95% for 1 dose and 80 % in 2 doses at the age of 24 months. In fact, for 2011, these rates are 89.4% and 67.3% respectively.
In this context, the study conducted by InVS focused on children aged 24 months and children aged 3 to 4 living in the Midi-Pyrénées region (at this age) during the years 2008 to 2012. And the results reported by the Institute are certainly encouraging but still not up to the objectives.
In fact, the rates of partial vaccination coverage (at least one dose) of the MMR vaccine are heterogeneous in the region. Thus, 4 out of 8 departments have rates below 85% and only 1 has a rate above 90%. Haute-Garonne has the highest rate while Aveyron and Gers are the departments where children are the least vaccinated.
As regards the rates of vaccination coverage at 2 doses, they are also heterogeneous. Haute-Garonne is the department with the highest rate of complete vaccination coverage, while Gers has the lowest rate. “The results of this study show that all the departments in the region are below the objectives set by WHO Europe and the French plan at the age of 24 months”, conclude the authors.
Source: INVS
As a reminder, between 2008 and 2012 a major measles epidemic reached more than 24,000 people in France. It has caused more than 1,000 severe pneumonitis and 30 neurological complications such as encephalitis or myelitis. Ten deaths were to be deplored by pneumopathy, myocarditis or encephalitis. “The epidemic foci were the consequence of an insufficient and heterogeneous level of vaccination coverage in France”, the epidemiologists of the InVS concluded.
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