NATIONAL MEASLES LABORATORY

Measles in New Zealand

In the year ending December 2007 there were 20 notifications of Measles in New Zealand giving a rate of 0.5 per 100,000 population. www.surv.esr.cri.nz
Measles vaccine was introduced to New Zealand in 1969, however, major measles epidemics still occur. Since 1980, major epidemics occurred in 1985, 1991 and 1997. In 1997 there were 1,984 cases notified compared with 66 notifications during 2003.

The vaccination schedule for mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) was changed in 2001 as a mathematical model predicted that measles epidemics would continue to occur if the MMR vaccine continued to be given at 15 months and 11 years . It is now recommended at 15 months and four years. It is therefore difficult to predict if, and when, a further measles epidemic may occur. In the past, epidemics have occurred every five to seven years but the change in vaccination schedule and the large vaccination programme associated with the 1997 epidemic may have influenced this pattern.

National notification rates for measles vary by age. Highest notification rates occur in the young age groups. As an example, the estimated incidence of measles, based on notification data, was negligible in 2002 . In that year, the notification rate was higher in the European ethnic group at 3.3 per 100,000 (95% CI: 1.1-7.7), compared with 0.7 per 100,000 (95% CI: 0.4-1.0) overall . The accuracy of ethnicity recording is unclear.

Reference

Ministry of Health Immunisation Handbook, Ministry of Health, 2006