A cluster of measles cases linked to a hospital in central Taiwan was reported last month, and total cases reached 19 as of Friday. As measles is a highly contagious and notifiable disease, confirmed cases must be reported to health authorities, but the reports have aroused public concerns. With more than 3,000 close contacts identified, many locations visited by confirmed cases during their contagious periods being reported, and some local news media using hyperbolic headlines such as “too many close contacts to identify,” “measles epidemic is on the rise” and “infected by just walking by” have prompted “panic searching” for vaccines.
Local clinics reported receiving dozens of calls asking for measles vaccination daily, while a doctor said a patient told him their company required them to get vaccinated before attending the year-end party.
In response, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and several physicians last week explained and clarified the measles situation in Taiwan — a widespread outbreak is very unlikely, with a low risk of getting infected in local communities — in an effort to ease public fears and panic.
CDC Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) on Friday said Taiwan’s measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage is more than 97 percent, indicating a high level of herd immunity, and as new cases remain confined to hospital contacts, the risk of community spread is low and people need not be overly concerned. Ministry of Health and Welfare Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices head Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎) also said that Taiwan’s MMR vaccine coverage is higher than most countries, so while small clusters of cases have been reported from time to time, large-scale outbreaks have not occurred in many years, and so far there is no sign of a widespread outbreak.
The CDC also urged people not to rush to get vaccinated, as people born before 1981 are presumed to have been infected naturally and gained lifelong immunity, while children who follow the government’s childhood immunization schedule should have received their first dose between 12 to 15 months of age and their second dose after age five and prior to enrollment in elementary school.
As studies indicated that immunity from the MMR vaccine is effective and long-lasting, but wanes over time, the CDC only recommends that people born in or after 1981 get vaccinated. They include frontline medical personnel who tested negative for measles antibodies and received their last vaccine at least 15 years ago, people traveling to countries with a measles outbreak and those assessed by a physician.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), who is also a physician, said people should instead be more concerned about pneumonia and flu-like illnesses, especially as people are expected to attend gatherings with family and friends during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays.
CDC data showed there were more than 127,000 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Dec. 29 last year to Jan. 4, and a total of 412 serious flu cases have been reported since Oct. 1, including 91 deaths — the highest for the same period in a decade.
Meanwhile, flu cases in Japan and South Korea, popular destinations for Taiwanese travelers, have also been surging in recent weeks. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the sharply rising flu cases have marked the nation’s biggest flu outbreak since 2016. Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases said 317,812 flu cases were reported in the week to Dec. 29, and the average number of flu cases per medical institution was at its highest since the institute started its survey in 1999.
Compared with the relatively low infection risk and low number of confirmed measles cases (a total of 32 last year), people should pay more attention to whether elderly people, children and those with underlying health conditions have received their flu vaccine before joining gatherings or traveling during the Lunar New Year, when flu activity is expected to peak.
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