보건복지부 영문홈페이지

Korea Verified as Measles Free Nation by the World Health Organization

-       Korea’s infectious disease control capability is recognized by an international health organization and is touted as an ‘Exemplary Disease Control Case’

-       Korea needs to be vigilant about recurrent outbreak of measles caused by importation, report suspected cases and continue vaccination efforts.    

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister: Moon Hyung-pyo) and Korea Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (Director: Yang Byung-Guk, MD) announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) certified Korea free of measles on March 21, 2014 as Korea met all the criteria for the certification.

 

-       World Health Organization Western Pacific Region (WPRO*) monitored progress towards measles elimination in member states at the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Regional Verification Commission (RVC**) for Measles Elimination in the Western Pacific Region held during March 18~21, in Seoul, and

-       Declared Korea, Australia, Mongolia, and Macau in China to be measles free for the first time since it raised the criteria for measles-free verification***. 

 

* World Health Organization Western Pacific Region: one of the six regional offices under WHO that oversees Western Pacific region (Director: Dr. Shin Young-soo)

** Regional Verification Commission: set up in 2012, composed of international experts to verify measles elimination in each member state

*** Enhanced WHO criteria for measles-free verification (amended in 2013): No case report on endemic measles virus for three years, 95 or higher percentage of measles vaccination (twice), and operation of WHO-certified monitoring system etc.     

 

Measles is a very infectious disease, killing 300 people worldwide every day, and it can be critical to children as it develops serious complications.

 

-       In 2013, the WHO strengthened criteria for measles elimination from ‘less than one infection out of every 1 million people’ to ‘no report of endemic measles virus* for at least three years’ to enhance measles elimination efforts worldwide.

* A case of measles virus infection during overseas travel is classified as ‘imported-measles virus case,’ but when virus genotype which caused measles was undetected in the respective nation for at least 12 months, it is classified as ‘import-linked case.’

 

-       During 2000~2001, Korea experienced a measles epidemic that affected about 50 thousand people. Since then, Korea has developed and carried out a number of national measles elimination initiatives* and as a result was declared by the WHO in 2006 as the first nation in Western Pacific to be measles-free**.

 

* Key national measles elimination initiatives: vaccination of 5.8 million students in elementary, junior and high schools (2001), case-based surveillance with laboratory confirmation of reported cases, and school entry with documentation of vaccination against measles (2001~)

** WHO criteria for measles-free verification in 2006: Less than one case out of every 1 million population

 

-       Measles remerged as a global health issue due to sporadic measles outbreaks in neighboring countries, including China, Japan and the Philippines, and increasing cases of measles being reported in European nations with low vaccination rate (U.K., France).

 

Dr. Yang Byung-guk, director of KCDC noted by saying, “The fact that Korea is certified measles free by the WHO indicates that its overall disease control capabilities including surveillance, diagnosis and response, are recognized as the top class,” and added

 

-       “The key driving force which enabled Korea to become a measles-free nation is the high vaccination rate that exceeded over 95% for more than a decade thanks to strong public support.”

 

The KCDC, however, emphasized the importance of thorough surveillance and timely vaccination (MMR vaccination needed for 12~15 months-old infants and children aged 4~6).

 

Meanwhile, the KCDC also said that it will continue to eliminate Japanese encephalitis, rubella and other infectious diseases that can be effectively tackled with vaccination.