Najjar Zeina, Hope Kirsty, Clark Penelope, Nguyen Oanh, Rosewell Alexander, Conaty Stephen
South Western Sydney and Sydney Local Health Districts Public Health Unit, New South Wales, Australia .
Western Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit, New South Wales, Australia .
Western Pac Surveill Response J. 2015 Jan 30;5(1):14-20. doi: 10.5365/WPSAR.2013.4.4.002. eCollection 2014.
On 7 April 2012, a recently returned traveller from Thailand to Australia was confirmed to have measles. An outbreak of measles subsequently occurred in the state of New South Wales, prompting a sustained and coordinated response by public health authorities. The last confirmed case presented on 29 November 2012. This report describes the outbreak and its characteristics.
Cases were investigated following Australian protocols, including case interviews and assessment of contacts for post-exposure prophylaxis.
Of the 168 cases identified, most occurred in south-western and western Sydney (92.9%, n = 156). Notable features of this outbreak were the disproportionately high number of cases in the 10-19-year-old age group (29.2%, n = 49), the overrepresentation among people of Pacific Islander descent (21.4%, n = 36) and acquisition in health-care facilities (21.4%, n = 36). There were no reported cases of encephalitis and no deaths.
This was the largest outbreak of measles in Australia since 1997. Its occurrence highlights the need to maintain vigilant surveillance systems for early detection and containment of measles cases and to maintain high population immunity to measles through routine childhood immunization. Vaccination campaigns targeting susceptible groups may also be necessary to sustain Australia's measles elimination status.
2012年4月7日，一名近期从泰国返回澳大利亚的旅行者被确诊感染麻疹。随后，新南威尔士州爆发了麻疹疫情，促使公共卫生当局采取持续且协调一致的应对措施。最后一例确诊病例于2012年11月29日出现。本报告描述了此次疫情及其特征。
按照澳大利亚的规程对病例进行调查，包括病例访谈以及对接触者进行暴露后预防评估。
在确认的168例病例中，大多数发生在悉尼西南部和西部（92.9%，n = 156）。此次疫情的显著特征包括：10至19岁年龄组病例数量异常高（29.2%，n = 49）；太平洋岛民后裔人群中病例占比过高（21.4%，n = 36）；以及在医疗机构感染（21.4%，n = 36）。未报告脑炎病例，也无死亡病例。
这是自1997年以来澳大利亚最大规模的麻疹疫情。此次疫情的发生凸显了维持警惕的监测系统以早期发现和控制麻疹病例的必要性，以及通过儿童常规免疫保持人群对麻疹的高免疫力的必要性。针对易感人群开展疫苗接种运动对于维持澳大利亚消除麻疹的状态可能也是必要的。
