Table 2. Countries that have declared measles elimination and how they meet the WPRO criteria.
| WPRO criteria on measles elimination4 | Target | Australia | Brazil | Canada | Cuba | England & Wales | Finland | Mexico | Republic of Korea | USA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very low incidence | 1. Confirmed measles cases (confirmed by laboratory, epidemiologic linkage or clinically) | < 1/1 million | Noa | Yes | Noa | Yes | Noa | –b | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| High quality surveillance | 2. National reporting of non-measles suspected cases | ≥ 2/ 100 000 | No | 3.3–4.9/ 100 000 | ~17–22/ 100 000c | – | ~4.4/ 100 000 | – | ~10/ 100 000 | Yes | Yesd |
| 3. Percentage of districts reporting ≥ 1/100 000 non-measles suspected cases | ≥ 80% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Noe | – | |
| 4. Percentage of suspected cases with adequate investigation within 48 hours of notification | ≥ 80% | – | NFIf | – | – | – | – | Yes | Yes | – | |
| 5. Percentage of suspected cases with adequate blood specimens | ≥ 80% | – | Yes | – | – | – | – | Yes | Yes | – | |
| 6. Percentage of specimens with laboratory results ≤ 7 days after arrival to laboratory | ≥ 80% | – | NFIg | – | – | – | – | NFIh | Yes | – | |
| 7. Transmission chains (outbreaks) with sufficient samples for virus isolation | ≥ 80% | – | – | – | – | No | – | – | Yes | – | |
| High population immunity | 8. National MCV1 and MCV2 coverage | ≥ 95% | Yes | Yes | NFIi | Noj | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | NFIk |
| 9. Percentage of outbreaks or transmission foci with < 10 cases | ≥ 80% | No | Yes | Yes | – | Yes | – | – | – | – | |
| 10. Absence of endemic measles virus | No virus | Yes | Yes | Yes | – | Yes | – | – | Yesl | Yes | |
MCV, measles-containing vaccine; NFI, no further information; USA, United States of America; WPRO, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. a Target achieved for some years only. b Dash indicates criteria is not described in report that declared measles elimination for that country. c Canada: includes confirmed measles cases. d USA: > 90% of sources of data on discarded measles investigations in the USA report a rate > 1/100 000 population. Data sources vary in national completeness. e Republic of Korea: national data only. f Brazil: Policy of targeted investigation within 48 hours, NFI. g Brazil: reporting of % of specimens with results within 4 days: In 2000, 67%, in 2001, 73% of specimens. NFI regarding results at 7 days. h Mexico: reported > 80% of specimens arriving in a “timely fashion.” NFI. i Canada: > 95% coverage for MCV1 achieved. NFI. j Cuba: Vaccination strategy included one dose only. k USA: reporting of at least one dose (MCV1+), 2 states only require 1 dose of MCV. l Republic of Korea: previous endemic strain (H1) resulted in small outbreak in 2006. Likely imported from neighbouring country, China.