Health officials urge vigilance against imported measles

A disease control official monitors thermal footage of passengers who have arrived at Incheon International Airport in this stock photo from 2019. [YONHAP]

The national disease control agency has requested that health care workers remain vigilant for imported measles cases after one more case from abroad was confirmed last month.

According to medical professionals interviewed by the JoongAng Ilbo earlier this week, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) distributed an official notice to domestic hospitals and clinics requesting that they strengthen measles detection efforts in light of the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics, the expected increase in overseas travel during the Lunar New Year holiday, and the beginning of the school term in March.

In its notice, the KDCA asked health care facilities to question patients about their recent travel history and conduct diagnostic tests on those exhibiting symptoms associated with measles, such as a rash or fever.

The KDCA also asked hospitals and clinics to report confirmed measles cases to a local public health center.

In its response to an inquiry from the JoongAng Ilbo, the KDCA explained that the measure was adopted preemptively considering lower domestic measles vaccination rates following the Covid-19 pandemic and measles cases recently reported in Korea.

According to the agency, one patient was confirmed to have contracted the disease last month after having traveled abroad, while eight cases in total were reported last year.

The agency noted that a marked uptick in infections began in October, with five of the nine confirmed cases since January 2023 being diagnosed in the past four months.

The KDCA said that all nine measles patients contracted the disease while abroad.

No measles cases were reported in Korea in 2021 and 2022, but the KDCA attributes the influx in cases last year to increased overseas travel amid the global measles epidemic.

According to the KDCA, the spread of measles picked up pace globally during the pandemic, when fear of Covid-19 is believed to have led parents to delay vaccinations for their children.

Approximately 280,000 measles cases occurred worldwide in 2023, about 1.6 times more than in 2022. Of these, 42,000 cases were reported in Europe, representing a 45-fold increase from 2022.

Measles is an acute viral respiratory disease caused by the measles virus.

It can be spread through the air through coughing or sneezing. Infections are usually marked by a bodywide rash and lesions in the oral cavity.

The virus is also highly contagious, with nine out of 10 people who are not immune contracting the disease if they share a living space with an infected person.

The reproductive number of measles, or the number of people that can contract the virus from an infected individual, is believed to range from 12 to 18, according to the most frequently cited estimates.

Although Korea experienced an outbreak of measles from 2000 to 2001, infections declined sharply after a mass vaccination campaign.

The MMR vaccine, which combines the measles vaccine with other vaccines for mumps and rubella, is highly effective at preventing infection.

Korea currently subsidizes two rounds of MMR vaccinations for children between 12 and 15 months of age and later when they are four to six.

The KDCA recommends adults receive at least one initial dose and another dose four weeks after the first administration if they intend to travel abroad.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]