Fewer measles cases in 2012; ECDC adds rubella surveillance data to monthly monitoring

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's (ECDC) monthly measles monitoring report for July 2012 showed that the number of reported measles cases was much lower in 2012 compared to the same period in the previous year. From January to May 2012, 3,570 cases were reported. In the same period in 2011, 16,489 cases were notified. Given the cyclical nature of the disease, the ECDC maintained that this was unsurprising and should not lead to complacency regarding elimination efforts.

In addition to measles, ECDC included rubella in its monthly monitoring report. Both measles and rubella are targeted for elimination in Europe in 2015, and vaccinations are routinely delivered as a trivalent measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.