%0 Journal Article %J Euro Surveill %D 2009 %T An outbreak of measles in orthodox Jewish communities in Antwerp, Belgium, 2007-2008: different reasons for accumulation of susceptibles. %A Tinne Lernout %A Kissling, E %A Veronik Hutse %A De Schrijver, K %A Top, G %K Belgium %K Disease Outbreaks %K Disease Susceptibility %K Humans %K incidence %K Jews %K Measles %K Measles Vaccine %K Population Surveillance %K Risk Assessment %K Risk Factors %K Vaccination %X

From August 2007 to May 2008, an outbreak of at least 137 cases of measles occurred in some orthodox Jewish communities in Antwerp, Belgium. The outbreak was linked to outbreaks in the same communities in the United Kingdom and in Israel. The reasons for this outbreak were diverse: cultural factors, misinformation on vaccination by some medical doctors and the lack of a catch-up vaccination programme in private Jewish schools. The identification of smaller susceptible groups for measles transmission and vaccination of these groups represent a major challenge for the measles elimination programme.

%B Euro Surveill %V 14 %8 2009 Jan 15 %G eng %N 2 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19161716?dopt=Abstract