Progress toward measles elimination--Southern Africa, 1996-1998

Despite routine measles vaccination coverage of >70% in southern Africa during the early 1990s, low-level endemic transmission and periodic epidemics of measles continued. Since 1995, six southern African nations (Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe) have launched measles-elimination initiatives in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) African Regional Office (AFR). Strategies include programs to 1) achieve routine vaccination coverage of > or =95% with one dose of measles vaccine administered at age 9 months; 2) implement a one-time national catch-up measles vaccination campaign to interrupt indigenous transmission of measles; 3) implement periodic national follow-up measles campaigns to maintain interruption of measles transmission; and 4) establish case-based measles surveillance with laboratory confirmation. This report presents preliminary data about the progress toward measles elimination in the six southern Africa countries.