Japan still playing catchup on kids' measles vaccinations

Japan still playing catchup on kids' measles vaccinations

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20040424b4.htm

Japan launched a campaign to get more children vaccinated against the measles in 2001, looking to catch up with other advanced nations that combat the disease in a much more aggressive fashion.

The campaign carries the slogan: "Let's give measles vaccine to 1-year-olds as a birthday present."

Measles kills 750,000 people worldwide every year.

In Japan, about 100,000 to 200,000 are infected every year, and 20 to 30 people die. These figures are much higher than those in other advanced countries that have aggressive vaccination programs, including the United States, which reports around 100 cases a year and few deaths.

"In 2000, 45 percent of 1-year-olds, who are most likely to get measles, were vaccinated, but the percentage rose to 78 percent in 2002," said Keiko Taya, a section chief of the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

She said that in 2001, only 44 percent of 1-year-olds had the antibody, though this figure rose to 73 percent a year later. In 2003, the number of patients dropped to one-quarter of that two years earlier.

A vaccination rate of 95 percent is required to control the disease, and Taya believes Japan will soon approach this figure.

The key is making vaccinations more accessible. At present, appointments are necessary, though many parents want vaccinations on demand.

According to Takehiro Togashi, director of Municipal Sapporo Hospital, the vaccination rate for 1 1/2-year-old kids in Hokkaido was 83 percent in fiscal 2002, while that for 3-year-olds was 94 percent.

The figures for Sapporo were 87 percent and 96 percent, respectively.

More kids are getting vaccinated because hospitals are distributing reminder stickers to parents so they can mark the vaccination dates on their calendars.

"We want to wipe out the disease in Hokkaido in two years," Togashi said.

The World Health Organization classifies countries in three categories -- those that need to control the disease, those that need to prevent mass outbreaks and those that have almost eradicated it.

More than 100 countries -- including the U.S -- belong to the last group, but Japan belongs to the first. The vaccination rate in the U.S. is more than 95 percent; American children cannot enter school unless they are vaccinated.

Despite the nationwide campaign in Japan, however, mass outbreaks are commonplace and many adults contract the disease.

From last May to July, mass outbreaks occurred at elementary and junior high schools in Miyazaki Prefecture. Two-thirds of the 400 children infected with the disease had not been vaccinated.

The Japan Times: April 24, 2004
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