2023-11-16 16:31:55
A measles epidemic hits Ardèche and Drôme. The General Directorate of Health recommends that some adolescents in these departments receive a booster vaccination to avoid contracting the disease.
Health authorities are warning of a measles epidemic in Drôme and Ardèche. The General Directorate of Health (DGS) has sent directives including vaccination recommendations to health professionals in these two departments, following the identification of at least 64 cases of the disease around a college in Ardèche since the 19th. september.
The source of this epidemic outbreak would be a schoolboy from Drôme returning from a trip to Indonesia. “The viral strain identified in this patient is circulating in Indonesia, a country which is currently experiencing active viral circulation. The strain is covered by vaccines marketed in France,” specifies the DGS.
Among the cases identified, 40% were not or not completely vaccinated once morest measles and among those vaccinated up to date, 73% received their two injections before the age of one. Problem: received so early, the vaccine can “result in less long-term immunity and explain the significant proportion of vaccinated college students who contracted measles”.
Recommendation for vaccine boosters
In this context, the DGS therefore recommends that doctors carry out vaccine boosters for people who may need them in the context of this localized epidemic, in this case “adolescents attending colleges in the departments of Drôme and Ardèche”.
It is also recommended that doctors “check the vaccination status of all people born following 1980 by ensuring that each person has received 2 doses of measles vaccine and that these 2 doses were administered following the age of 12 months, with a minimum period of 1 month between the 2 doses.
The DGS specifies that measles is “characterized by very high transmissibility and by the existence of contagiousness beginning several days before the appearance of the rash”, which can therefore favor transmission by asymptomatic patients.
In 2022, 15 cases of measles were declared in France, including 5 imported from abroad, according to Santé Publique France.
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