Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.

------------------------------------------------------------

March 25, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Study: 3 Mil. Susceptible to Measles"

Tokyo Daily Yomiuri (www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm) (03/23/02) P. 2

In Japan, a recent study by Nobuhiko Okabe, director of the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center (IDSC) of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and a senior researcher at the IDSC have found that over 3 million people in Japan could be susceptible to measles.  While half of all children under 12 months and 80 percent to 90 percent of children over two years of age have been vaccinated against the disease, about 3 million people from all age groups are still susceptible to measles.  The researchers say that young people in their 20s need to be particularly careful, because there is a greater likelihood of adults and babies developing complications, such as pneumonia, if they come down with measles.  Some 230,000 people in Japan developed measles last year, and approximately 50 people die from the disease each year.  In the past, Japanese parents were obliged by law to have their children vaccinated against measles, but that law was relaxed in 1994.  However, there are growing reports of Japanese tourists entering foreign countries with the disease, posing a major threat of infection to other people.  In Europe, a number of countries have been highly critical of Japan's vaccination policy, and they are expected to ask the Japanese government to raise its vaccination rate.

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.