Spotlight on measles 2010: Preliminary report of an ongoing measles outbreak in a subpopulation with low vaccination coverage in Berlin, Germany, January- March 2010

Abstract

Since early January 2010, Berlin has been experiencing a measles outbreak with 62 cases as of 31 March. The index case acquired the infection in India. In recent years, measles incidence in Berlin has been lower than the German average and vaccination coverage in school children has increased since 2001. However, this outbreak involves schools and kindergartens with low vaccination coverage and parents with critical attitudes towards vaccination, which makes the implementation of public health interventions challenging.