Description of the situation
A total of 39 537 cases including six deaths has been reported nationwide from March 2000 through January 2001. The outbreak originally started in the eastern part of the country with steady acceleration in the number of cases since October 2000. 7449 cases have been reported in January 2001. The outbreak has been laboratory confirmed serologically and by isolation of measles virus from nine cases.
The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Korea is carrying out active surveillance, education and case management and stricter school entry requirements are in place. A school-based vaccination campaign is being prepared for May 2001.