Vaccine: Measles and Rubella Vaccination Experience in Zambia

Measles is still the cause of disease and even death around the world, and with the modern widespread travel around the globe, it can be spread from one site to another with ease. Rubella infection, especially during pregnancy, can also have important effects on the fetus and the family involved. The WHO African regional target of eliminating measles by 2020 seems unlikely, but in Zambia great strides have been made to eliminate measles. Following the successful implementation of the MR (measles-rubella) vaccination campaign, the MR vaccine should be introduced in the routine immunization program to replace single measles containing virus vaccine. In this book, we review the status of measles and rubella vaccination campaigns and incidence rates of these diseases in Zambia. Vaccination campaigns were conducted in 2010 and 2012 using a single measles vaccine and in 2016, a combined measles-rubella vaccine was administered in a campaign. The measles incidence rate reduced following the campaigns in 2010 and 2012. However, the incidence of measles slightly increased after the 2016 vaccination campaign. Meanwhile, the incidence of rubella increased in 2011 following the 2010 measles vaccination campaign. Thereafter, the decline in the incidence of rubella was observed and sustained with the measles-rubella vaccination campaign in 2016. There has been great progress towards the control and elimination of measles in Zambia.