There were just two potential cases of measles in two years, proving Malta had a very successful vaccination programme when compared to other European countries such as the UK or Germany, a medical report has found.
The report, called Measles In Europe, was published yesterday in the international medical journal The Lancet. It was based on reported measles cases covering 2006 and 2007 from national surveillance institutions in 32 European countries.
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus and is spread via the respiratory airways. It causes a total-body skin rash and flu-like symptoms, including a fever, cough and runny nose.
According to the study, the large majority of recorded cases of measles, 85 per cent, were recorded in Romania, Germany, the UK, Switzerland and Italy.
Over the two-year period, a total of 12,132 cases of measles were recorded in the 32 countries; of these, 10, 329 cases were registered in the five countries mentioned above.
The report was compiled by a group of scientists, led by Maltese doctor Mark Muscat, from EUVAC.NET, an EU surveillance network for vaccine preventable infectious diseases. The network is based at the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dr Muscat, scientific coordinator for the network in the Department of Epidemiology at the institute, is the first author of this report.
The main aim behind the study was to raise awareness about the disease which is targeted for elimination from Europe by 2010, Dr Muscat explained when contacted at his office in Denmark.
The spreading of the disease has dropped radically over the years due to the three-in-one vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), which is usually given to children as part of national vaccination programmes. However, in recent years, MMR vaccinations decreased due to scientifically-unfounded fears that linked the vaccine to autism.
Although there might be a common perception that measles was a mild disease, it could cause complications and might even be fatal, Dr Muscat said, adding that seven persons were reported to have died of measles during the two years under review.
The report stated that there were only two potential cases of measles reported in Malta in 2007. However, laboratory tests did not confirm whether these were actually measles.
Victoria Farrugia Sant' Angelo, from the Primary Health Care Department, said Malta had a very high take-up rate of the MMR vaccination.
"The optimum vaccination rate is 95 per cent of the population and Malta's is about 87 per cent, which is very positive," she said, adding that this had to be increased further.
In Malta, the MMR jab is given at 15 months and the booster about three years later.
Dr Farrugia Sant' Angelo said it was very rare to see a case of measles in Malta, adding that the last case she saw was about 15 years ago.
Doctors were obliged by law to notify the Public Health Department if they came across a case of measles. However, more had to be done.
"We are two years away from the 2010 deadline and, yet, there were over 12,000 cases of measles in 2006 and 2007, with 85 per cent of the cases in five countries," Dr Muscat noted.
Successfully implemented national vaccination programmes were the key. In fact, countries with high vaccination coverage of about 95 per cent, such as Finland and Iceland, did not report any cases of measles.
The UK, one of the five countries with a high incidence of measles, had launched a very strong -vaccination campaign, which gave rise to theories about a potential link between autism and the MMR jab.
"This is absolutely untrue and, unfortunately, misinformation leads to parents not being motivated to vaccinate their children," said Dr Muscat.