2018 Madagascar measles outbreak
{{short description|Measles outbreak in Antananarivo, Madagascar}}
{{infobox epidemic
| name= 2018 Madagascar measles outbreak
| dates= September 2018–present{{cite web| url= http://www.sante.gov.mg/home/n | title= Vainquons Ensemble la Rougeole à Madagascar | publisher= Ministère de la Santé Publique | date= 1 March 2019 | access-date= 13 May 2019}}
| location= Madagascar
| confirmed_cases= 118,000+
| first_case= 3 family members in Antananarivo-Renivohitra District
| disease= Measles
| virus_strain= Measles morbillivirus
}}
In early September 2018, cases of measles began to appear in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The capital's health authorities, challenged by the district's poverty and Madagascar's relatively-low vaccination rate,{{cite press release| url= https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/05/28/1853597/0/en/MAF-Flights-Support-Measles-Prevention-in-Madagascar.html | website= Globalnewspublisher.com | title= MAF Flights Support Measles Prevention in Madagascar | date= 28 May 2019 | access-date= 16 June 2019}} were unable to contain the highly-contagious disease, and what followed became the largest measles outbreak yet in Madagascar's history.{{cite news|url=https://www.apnews.com/0cd4deb8141742b5903fbef3cb0e8afa|title=Measles outbreak kills more than 1200 in Madagascar|last=Bezain|first=Laetitia|date=14 April 2019|access-date=13 May 2019|publisher=Associated Press}} With more than 115,000 people infected and more than 1,200 dying, the outbreak has become Madagascar's most serious outbreak of measles in the 21st century.
Outbreak
Measles cases were first detected in the urban, downtown district of Antananarivo-Renivohetra on 3 September 2018. At the time, health authorities were still heavily engaged in the remnants of the previous year's plague epidemic, and public resources were identified to tracking down remaining cases. On 4 October, the Institute Pasteur de Madagascar confirmed the presence of measles morbillivirus in samples from 3 patients{{cite web | url= https://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2018-000417-mdg |title= Madagascar: Measles Outbreak - Oct 2018 |publisher= Relief Web |date= March 2019 |access-date= 13 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413080008/https://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2018-000417-mdg |archive-date=13 April 2020 }} and identified the B3 strain.{{cite web| url= https://www.who.int/csr/don/17-january-2019-measles-madagascar/en/ | title= Emergencies preparedness, response: Measles - Madagascar | publisher= World Health Organization | date= 17 January 2019 | access-date= 15 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020060839/https://www.who.int/csr/don/17-january-2019-measles-madagascar/en/ |archive-date= 20 October 2019}} The virus had already spread outwards to the capital's Atsimondrano, Avaradrano, and Ambohidratrimo districts, and by 18 November there were over 3,200 recorded cases in Madagascar.
Response
Measles immunity rates are below average in Madagascar at 83%, versus the 95% recommended by the World Health Organization. Availability of the MMR vaccine is patchy in Madagascar due to the island's mountainous geography, presenting a challenge to distributors.{{Cite journal|last1=Mensah|first1=K.|last2=Heraud|first2=J. M.|last3=Takahashi|first3=S.|last4=Winter|first4=A. K.|last5=Metcalf|first5=C. J. E.|last6=Wesolowski|first6=A.|date=2019-04-24|title=Seasonal gaps in measles vaccination coverage in Madagascar|journal=Vaccine|volume=37|issue=18|pages=2511–2519|doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.02.069|pmid=30940486|pmc=6466641|issn=0264-410X}}
References
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