title: Measles Elimination Activities in the Western Pacific Region: Experience from the Republic of Korea.
abstract: We describe the global status of measles control and elimination, including surveillance and vaccination coverage data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 2000, two doses of measles vaccine (MCV2) became recommended globally and the achievement of high vaccination coverage has led to dramatic decrease in the measles incidence. Our finding indicates that, in the Western Pacific Region (WPR), substantial progress has been made to control measles transmission in some countries; however, the measles virus continues to circulate, causing outbreaks. The Republic of Korea (ROK) experienced a series of resurgence of measles due to the importation and healthcare-associated transmission in infants, however overall incidence and surveillance indicators met the WHO criteria for measles elimination. The ROK was verified to be measles-free along with Australia, Mongolia, and Macau, China in 2014. One of the effective elimination activities was the establishment of solid keep-up vaccination system in school settings. The lessons learnt from the measles elimination activities in Korea may contribute to enhancing the surveillance schemes and strengthening of vaccination programs in member countries and areas of WPR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Seoul National University School of Public Health, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young June
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.affiliation: Center for Immunology and Pathology, Korea National Institute of Health, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Youngmee
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jee
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Myoung-don
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ; JW Lee Center for Global Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Koo
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D060740:Disease Eradication / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006078:Government Programs / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D032541:Mass Vaccination / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008457:Measles / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008458:Measles Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D008458:Measles Vaccine
keywords: Elimination; Korea; Measles; Surveillance; Western Pacific Region