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January 31, 2020 From January 1 to December 31, 2019, 1,627 measles cases were reported in Italy, or 1,054 fewer than in 2018. Almost 46% were hospitalized, 25% went to the emergency room and 62 cases had concerned children under one year of age. This is what is read in Morbillo and Rosolia News, the bulletin of the Integrated Surveillance system coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.All the Regions reported cases in the period considered but 58% of the cases occurred in Lazio and Lombardy. 86.2% of cases were unvaccinated at the time of infection and 96 cases among health workers and 43 among school workers were also reported. 31% of patients (506) reported at least one complication, and the most frequent was diarrhea, followed by hepatitis and keratoconjunctivitis. 5% of cases developed pneumonia and three cases of encephalitis (including one child under one year of age) and one death from respiratory complications of measles were reported in an unvaccinated adult with concomitant conditions.
Over 60% of cases have occurred in people between 15 and 39 years of age. However, the highest incidence occurred in the 0-4 age group, in which 174 cases were reported, equal to 10%. Since the beginning of 2013, 14,788 measles cases have been reported, of which: 2,270 in 2013, 1,695 in 2014, 256 in 2015,862 in 2016, 5,397 in 2017 (year of the peak of infections), 2,681 in 2018 and 1,627 in 2019 The decrease in infections, as noted, coincided with the introduction of the vaccination requirement, wanted by the then Minister of Health Beatrice Lorenzin.