Measles cases in Malta last year rose to 30, of which six were imported, compared to five imported cases and one endemic case in 2018.
The vaccination coverage rate for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella vaccine) in children is 96% for the first dose and 95% for the second dose.
"This is a good rate, however, we need to encourage more parents to vaccinate their children to ensure that all those children who can have the vaccine are vaccinated," the Health Ministry said.
"The main problem is a cohort of adults who have missed the measles vaccine in the past. This is being reflected in the cases occurring in Malta who are mainly adults. Such discrete communities of unvaccinated people can spark deadly outbreaks."
The ministry was commenting on vaccination data issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Globally, since 2010, vaccination coverage with three doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) and measles vaccine has stalled at around 86 percent. But 95 percent coverage is needed— globally, across countries, and communities — to protect against outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Most unvaccinated children live in the poorest countries and are disproportionately in fragile or conflict-affected states. Almost half are in just 16 countries: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
In 2018, almost 350,000 measles cases were reported globally, more than doubling from 2017.
An epidemic of measles affected EU/EEA member states in the past three years, with 44,074 cases being reported to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control by member states between January 1, 2016 and March 31, 2019. This year till April, there were 6,265 cases reported, with the highest number of cases in France, Italy, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Poland.
Malta has till now maintained the status of elimination of measles, the ministry said. The authorities' action for measles includes vaccination, early identification of cases, isolation, management of cases, and contact tracing.
The ministry urged parents to ensure their children are vaccinated and encourage adults born after 1970 who were not vaccinated with two doses of MMR to contact their doctor. Vaccination records are available at myhealth https://myhealth-ng.gov.mt/
For further advice, one can contact the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Unit on helpline 21324086 or the National Immunisation Service on 25680299.