Measles surveillance in the United States: An overview

Abstract

The elimination of endemic measles from the United States has been a national goal since the introduction of measles vaccine, and measles surveillance has been crucial to guide the elimination efforts. The United States surveillance system is geared towards detection of measles virus transmission, rapid discovery of measles outbreaks to facilitate outbreak control, and identification of risk factors for measles. The surveillance system is a passive reporting system that, when activated by a reported case of suspected measles, triggers a search for additional cases around the reported case. Cases are typically reported by health care providers or from schools and day care centers. The sensitivity of the system is increased through reporting and investigation of all suspected measles cases by means of an inclusive case definition (generalized maculopapular rash and fever), and the specificity is increased through laboratory testing for measles of all suspected cases.