title: Surveillance for measles--New Zealand, 1991.
abstract: To monitor the extent and spread of the epidemic of measles that began in New Zealand in 1991, a special surveillance system was established. Reports from 13 area health boards were received on a weekly basis; the Bay of Plenty Area Health Board provided data aggregated over several weeks on a less frequent schedule. Nine thousand two hundred thirty-nine measles cases were reported during the 6-month period July-December 1991, with the highest incidence being reported from the Tairawhiti (1,027 cases/100,000 population) and Taranaki (558/100,000) Area Health Boards; South Island areas reported rates that were all below the national average of 280/100,000. Of the 8,684 cases for which information on age was obtained, over one-third (2,957, or 34%) occurred among children less than 5 years of age, most of whom had not been vaccinated. The failure to vaccinate a sufficiently high percentage of children against measles is the major factor that contributed to this epidemic.
authors.affiliation: New Zealand Communicable Disease Centre.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Galloway
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stehr-Green
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008457:Measles / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance