furter efforts needed to achieve measles elimination in Germany: results of an outbreak investigation
Bulletin of the World Health Organization·
- DOI
- 10.2471/blt.07.050187
- PMID
- 19274362
- PMCID
- PMC2636188
- OpenAlex
- W1964134518
- Study type
- Outbreak investigation
- Publisher
- WHO Press
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings demonstrate ongoing challenges to measles elimination in Germany, highlighting significant immunity gaps in older pediatric age groups that may undermine control strategies.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
This outbreak investigation aimed to characterize the morbidity and economic burden associated with a large measles outbreak in Germany, and to identify potential improvements to the national measles elimination strategy.
Study design
The study employed an outbreak investigation design, analyzing surveillance data from North Rhine-Westphalia during 2006, including case interviews and cost estimation.
Population and setting
The outbreak occurred in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, spanning 48 weeks in 2006, with the city of Duisburg reporting the highest concentration of cases.
Main findings
A total of 1749 measles cases were reported during the study period, with case distribution shifting toward older children compared to earlier surveillance data, particularly among 10-14 year-olds. Most interviewed cases were unvaccinated, with parental forgetfulness and vaccine rejection cited as primary reasons. The average estimated cost per case was 373 euros.
Public-health relevance
The findings demonstrate ongoing challenges to measles elimination in Germany, highlighting significant immunity gaps in older pediatric age groups that may undermine control strategies.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. Full interpretation of study limitations and generalizability requires access to the complete original paper.
GIDS interpretation
This article represents a historical outbreak investigation documenting measles transmission dynamics in Germany. The evidence describes documented case characteristics and vaccination gaps but does not establish causal relationships to broader surveillance patterns.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 13 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.