Mazelenuitbraak in een regio met hoge vaccinatiegraad

Background

Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases. One measles patient can infect 12 to 18 persons in a fully susceptible population, i.e. people who have not been vaccinated against or infected with measles. We describe a measles outbreak in a Dutch region with high vaccination coverage.

Case description

After a visit from an Indian business partner, measles was confirmed in an Israeli employee of a medium-sized company in South Limburg. This initiated source and contact tracing by the local Public Health Services, leading to information and vaccination campaigns at the company and at the international school attended by the employee’s children. During the outbreak, three of the employee’s children and two colleagues also experienced measles. The diagnosis of measles in the Indian business partner was confirmed in the Netherlands based on the clinical symptoms.

Conclusion

Laboratory confirmation of measles is important to allow timely source and contact tracing by the local Public Health Services. The work environment can play an important role in the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.