Giuseppe
Emeritus
[Source: Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, full text: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
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Volume 17, Number 8?August 2011
Research
Spread of Measles Virus D4-Hamburg, Europe, 2008?2011
Annette Mankertz, Zefira Mihneva, Hermann Gold, Sigrid Baumgarte, Armin Baillot, Rudolph Helble, Hedwig Roggendorf, Golubinka Bosevska, Jasminka Nedeljkovic, Agata Makowka, Veronik Hutse, Heidemarie Holzmann, Stefan W. Aberle, Samuel Cordey, Gheorghe Necula, Andreas Mentis, Gulay Korukluoğlu, Michael Carr, Kevin E. Brown, Judith M. H?bschen, Claude P. Muller, Mick N. Mulders, and Sabine Santibanez
Author affiliations: Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (A. Mankertz, S. Santibanez); National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia, Bulgaria (Z. Mihneva); Department of Health and Environment, M?nchen, Germany (H. Gold); Institute of Hygiene and the Environment, Hamburg, Germany (S. Baumgarte); Governmental Institute of Public Health of Lower Saxony, Hannover, Germany (A. Baillot); Health Office City of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany (R. Helble); Public Health Office, Essen, Germany (H. Roggendorf); Institute for Public Health, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia (G. Bosevska); Institute of Virology, Belgrade, Serbia (J. Nedeljkovic); National Institute of Public Health, Warsaw, Poland (A. Makowka); Scientific Institute of Public Health, Brussels, Belgium (V. Hutse); Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (H. Holzmann, S.W. Aberle); University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland (S. Cordey); Cantacuzino National Institute of Research and Development for Microbiology and Immunology, Bucharest, Romania (G. Necula); Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece (A. Mentis); Refik Saydam National Public Health Agency, Ankara, Turkey (G. Korukluoğlu); Virus Reference Laboratory, Dublin, Ireland (M. Carr); Health Protection Agency, London, UK (K.E. Brown); Laboratoire National de Sant?/CRP-Sant?, Luxembourg (J.M. H?bschen, C.P. Muller); and World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark (M.N. Mulders)
Abstract
A new strain of measles virus, D4-Hamburg, was imported from London to Hamburg in December 2008 and subsequently spread to Bulgaria, where an outbreak of >24,300 cases was observed. We analyzed spread of the virus to demonstrate the importance of addressing hard-to-reach communities within the World Health Organization European Region regarding access to medical care and vaccination campaigns. The D4-Hamburg strain appeared during 2009?2011 in Poland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland, and Belgium and was repeatedly reimported to Germany. The strain was present in Europe for >27 months and led to >25,000 cases in 12 countries. Spread of the virus was prevalently but not exclusively associated with travel by persons in the Roma ethnic group; because this travel extends beyond the borders of any European country, measures to prevent the spread of measles should be implemented by the region as a whole.
-Research
Spread of Measles Virus D4-Hamburg, Europe, 2008?2011
Annette Mankertz, Zefira Mihneva, Hermann Gold, Sigrid Baumgarte, Armin Baillot, Rudolph Helble, Hedwig Roggendorf, Golubinka Bosevska, Jasminka Nedeljkovic, Agata Makowka, Veronik Hutse, Heidemarie Holzmann, Stefan W. Aberle, Samuel Cordey, Gheorghe Necula, Andreas Mentis, Gulay Korukluoğlu, Michael Carr, Kevin E. Brown, Judith M. H?bschen, Claude P. Muller, Mick N. Mulders, and Sabine Santibanez
Author affiliations: Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (A. Mankertz, S. Santibanez); National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia, Bulgaria (Z. Mihneva); Department of Health and Environment, M?nchen, Germany (H. Gold); Institute of Hygiene and the Environment, Hamburg, Germany (S. Baumgarte); Governmental Institute of Public Health of Lower Saxony, Hannover, Germany (A. Baillot); Health Office City of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany (R. Helble); Public Health Office, Essen, Germany (H. Roggendorf); Institute for Public Health, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia (G. Bosevska); Institute of Virology, Belgrade, Serbia (J. Nedeljkovic); National Institute of Public Health, Warsaw, Poland (A. Makowka); Scientific Institute of Public Health, Brussels, Belgium (V. Hutse); Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (H. Holzmann, S.W. Aberle); University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland (S. Cordey); Cantacuzino National Institute of Research and Development for Microbiology and Immunology, Bucharest, Romania (G. Necula); Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece (A. Mentis); Refik Saydam National Public Health Agency, Ankara, Turkey (G. Korukluoğlu); Virus Reference Laboratory, Dublin, Ireland (M. Carr); Health Protection Agency, London, UK (K.E. Brown); Laboratoire National de Sant?/CRP-Sant?, Luxembourg (J.M. H?bschen, C.P. Muller); and World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark (M.N. Mulders)
Abstract
A new strain of measles virus, D4-Hamburg, was imported from London to Hamburg in December 2008 and subsequently spread to Bulgaria, where an outbreak of >24,300 cases was observed. We analyzed spread of the virus to demonstrate the importance of addressing hard-to-reach communities within the World Health Organization European Region regarding access to medical care and vaccination campaigns. The D4-Hamburg strain appeared during 2009?2011 in Poland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland, and Belgium and was repeatedly reimported to Germany. The strain was present in Europe for >27 months and led to >25,000 cases in 12 countries. Spread of the virus was prevalently but not exclusively associated with travel by persons in the Roma ethnic group; because this travel extends beyond the borders of any European country, measures to prevent the spread of measles should be implemented by the region as a whole.
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