Measles in the present day and age “What happens to public health in the absence of surveillance?”

Measles can be prevented with the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine.

 One dose of MMR vaccine is about 93% effective at preventing measles if exposed to the virus,

 and two doses are about 97% effective.

 In the United States, widespread use of measles vaccine has led to a greater than 99% reduction in measles cases compared with the pre-vaccine era.

 Since 2000, when measles was declared eliminated from the U.S., the annual number of people reported to have measles ranged from a low of 37 people in 2004 to a high of 668 people in 2014. Most of these originated outside the country or were linked to a case that originated outside the country.

what was the incidence in India  during the same time?????

Measles is still common in other countries. The virus is highly contagious and can spread rapidly in areas where people are not vaccinated. Worldwide, an estimated 20 million people get measles and 146,000 people die from the disease each year—that equals about 400 deaths every day or about 17 deaths every hour.

Measles surveillance emphasizes (1) regular reporting of cases, (2) investigating outbreaks, and (3) monitoring vaccination coverage. Investigations of outbreaks provide information that allows prevention of future ones. This includes identification of high-risk groups, description of changes in measles epidemiology, and detection of weaknesses in routine immunization. In addition, outbreak investigation is followed by administration to case patients of vitamin A, an intervention that is effective in reducing the case fatality [2]. In 2005, WHO considered that from 1999 through 2005, measles deaths had been reduced by 60% globally [3]. However, India accounted for a substantial part of the remaining burden.

Inadequate surveillance and consequent “blindness” to the health status of the population has contributed to the uncontrolled global spread of the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), one of the worst pandemics in human history. Without accurate surveillance data to understand the true health status of their populations and to guide the use of limited public health resources, leaders can be grossly misinformed and, as in the case of HIV/AIDS, lose opportunities for early prevention and control before the virus becomes entrenched.