2019–2020 New Zealand measles outbreak

The 2019–2020 New Zealand measles outbreak is an ongoing epidemic affecting New Zealand, primarily in the Auckland region.[9] The outbreak was the worst epidemic in New Zealand since an influenza epidemic in 1999, and is the worst measles epidemic since 1938.[10]

New Zealand Measles Epidemic of 2019–2020
Date
  • Christchurch

16 February – 16 May 2019[1]

  • Auckland

28 February 2019 – Present[2]

  • August 2019–present outbreak
1 August 2019 – present[3]
Casualties
Country Cases (conf) Deaths Last update
New Zealand 2193 2*[4]
Australia 74 0[5][6][7]
Fiji 24 0[8]
Total 2,092
(see note 1)		 2*
As of 8 November 2019

The main strain of this outbreak is the D8 strain,[11][12] but the B3 stain has also been identified[13] and the epidemic has spread to several other countries. In Samoa more than 72 people have died.[14] Cases in Tonga and Fiji have also been recorded, and an outbreak in Perth began in October 2019 after a New Zealander visited while infectious.[15] In New Zealand, two unborn fetuses in second trimester have died as a result of the outbreak.[16]

Policy Response

The New Zealand Government has been criticised for its response to the epidemic, particularly due to shortages in the supply of vaccines.[17][18] Scientists have also criticised the Ministry of Health for not acting on previous recommendations to conduct national 'catch-up' campaigns with the MMR vaccine prior to the outbreak.[19]

In 2017 the New Zealand Health Ministry produced documents that showed an urgent need to increase measles immunisation among young people and that a "systematic, programmatic approach" was needed to address an immunity gap [20]. Dr Nikki Turner, Chair of the National Measles Verification Committee, met in 2018 to discuss the immunisation gap. It was noted damage was historical and immunisation rates had improved but by 2019 the gap had not been fully addressed. Many young people did not know if they had been vaccinated which indicated that poor record keeping contributed to ineffective delivery[21]. David Haymen and Turner concluded that the best way to close the immunity gap was to undertake a formal catch-up programme[22].

Research into the 2019 epidemic traced its history and showed it was young infants who were most at risk, followed by teenagers and adults under the age of 30.[21] Research also suggested management strategies such as a national campaign targeting the at-risk age groups; establishment of systems to ensure adequate supplies of vaccines; provision of support for their delivery at the practice level; and creative use of community facilities to improve accessibility.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, it became apparent that in the drive to obtain a vaccine for that outbreak, there was a stall in getting measles vaccination programmes rolled out effectively. Turner warned that because of this, it was possible that there would be "bigger problems with children dying from measles, and the damage from measles, than Covid."[23]

Although New Zealand has had a high demand for the MMR vaccine, resulting in a shortage, there has also been an increase in the number of people who have declined the vaccine since 2017.[24]

Cases

As of 29 January 2020, there had been 2,193 cases of measles reported throughout New Zealand since 1 January 2019.[4] Auckland had been the worst-hit region, with 1,736 cases alone.[4] The New Zealand Government activated the National Health Coordination Center in August 2019 to respond to the outbreak.[25]

Confirmed cases by District Health Board (27 September 2019)
(Source: Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR)[26])
Region Confirmed
cases		 Number
hospitalised
Northland6011
Waitematā21790
Auckland19878
Counties Manukau864281
Waikato359
Lakes174
Bay of Plenty3716
Tairāwhiti00
Taranaki62
Hawke's Bay31
Whanganui00
MidCentral50
Hutt Valley91
Capital and Coast123
Wairarapa10
Nelson Marlborough00
West Coast00
Canterbury4217
South Canterbury11
Southern342
Total (Nationwide)1,541516

See also

References
  1. "Canterbury measles outbreak declared officially over" – via TVNZ.
  2. "Measles alert for Auckland not linked to Canterbury outbreak – health officials" – via TVNZ.
  3. "Number of Auckland measles cases reaches new milestone" – via TVNZ.
  4. "2019 measles outbreak information2019/20 measles outbreak information". Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  5. "Three cases of Measles in Australia". 9 news. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  6. "2019 measles outbreak WA Information". WA Health. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  7. "Measles outbreak hits Queensland". 7 news. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  8. "Measles Outbreak declared in Fiji". fijisun. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  9. "2019 measles outbreak information". Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  10. "A timeline of epidemics in New Zealand" (PDF).
  11. Iannelli, Vincent; MD (13 May 2017). "Measles Vaccines vs Measles Strains". Vaxopedia. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  12. "National Measles Response and Recovery Appeal, 6 December 2019 - Samoa". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  13. "2019 Canterbury Measles Outbreak – A summary of cases" (PDF). New Zealand Community and Public Health. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  14. "WHO/UNICEF Secretariat Supporting Measles Outbreak Preparedness and Response in the Pacific" (PDF). WHO. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  15. Bell, Frances (2 October 2019). "Fears over growing and 'unprecedented' Perth measles outbreak linked to much bigger NZ one". ABC News. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  16. "Amid Auckland's measles outbreak, two second-trimester unborn babies die". TVNZ. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  17. Fitzgerald, Katie. "Simon Bridges hits out at Government over measles outbreak handling". Newshub. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  18. Laird, Lindy (20 September 2019). "47 measles cases in North, MP says not enough action". Northern Advocate. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  19. Hancock, Farah. "'Shameful' measles outbreak predicted". Stuff. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  20. "Measles outbreak: Call for national approach". www.scoop.co.nz. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  21. "A measles epidemic in New Zealand: Why did this occur and how can we prevent it occurring again?". www.nzma.org.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  22. "Joining the dots: What's really causing New Zealand's measles epidemics". RNZ. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  23. "Nikki Turner: Let's keep our eyes on the ball - The University of Auckland". www.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  24. Patel, Manisha; Lee, Adria D.; Clemmons, Nakia S.; Redd, Susan B.; Poser, Sarah; Blog, Debra; Zucker, Jane R.; Leung, Jessica; Link-Gelles, Ruth; Pham, Huong; Arciuolo, Robert J. (11 October 2019). "National Update on Measles Cases and Outbreaks — United States, January 1 – October 1, 2019". Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 68 (40): 893–896. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6840e2. ISSN 0149-2195. PMC 6788396. PMID 31600181.
  25. Small, Zane; Lynch, Jenna. "'This is serious': National Health Coordination Centre activated over measles outbreak". Newshub.
  26. Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) (27 September 2019). Measles weekly report, Week 39: 21–27 September 2019 (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 3 October 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.