title: Mumps: a current epidemiologic pattern as a necessary background for the choice of a vaccination strategy.
abstract: Before the measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccination was widely offered, the epidemiologic data about mumps (morbidity, immunization level, vaccine coverage) were analyzed in Piedmont region (Italy). The disease had a 3- to 5-year epidemic recurrence with morbidity rate between 40 and 150/100,000; the surveillance conducted by 'sentinel' pediatricians showed that the notifications underestimated the real data by about 5- to 7-fold. The 12-year-old subjects showed an immunization level (reached by the disease or the vaccination) of about 50% and their parents tended to refuse the MMR vaccination. Only 54% of the 3- to 5-year-old children received the MMR vaccine in the second year of life and the frequency of the vaccination failure was about 10%. The strategy of vaccination should take into account this epidemiologic pattern, to program an offer adequate to reach mumps control/elimination; the strategy of our region should include the active offer in the second year of life to reach higher coverage, a second offer at 4-6 and/or 12 years of life, when other vaccinations are given and the choice of a highly efficacious vaccine. The improvement of the notification system could also allow a more sensitive surveillance of epidemiologic patterns.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Microbiologia, Università di Torino, Italy. zotti@molinette.unito.it
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zotti
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ossola
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barberis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castella
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ruggenini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018563:Disease Notification; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D009107:Mumps / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009108:Mumps Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D009108:Mumps Vaccine