WHO Epidemiological Brief: a monthly publication on vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization data and analysis: No. 20, December 2011

Abstract

As of 1 December 2011, a total of 31 051 confirmed measles cases have been reported by 42 Member States of 53 in the Region. The 456 cases reported in October are within the range of monthly cases reported over the previous two months (‎649 in August and 448 in September)‎. During the same period, January–October 2011, 623 confirmed rubella cases were reported from 18 of 53 Member States in the Region. Twenty-nine countries in the World Health Organization (‎WHO)‎ European Region experienced measles importations between 2009 and 2011, resulting in a total of 791 imported or import‐related measles cases. Several of these importations resulted in subsequent widespread outbreaks in multiple countries. This issue of Epidemiological Brief also presents a case study on measles importation in Slovenia in 2011, and features an article showing the proportion of alternative samples versus conventional serum specimens collected by the WHO/Europe regional measles–rubella laboratory network in 2011.