Global Measles Watch...You need to check your vaccination status before traveling abroad such as Vietnam
Mar 07, 2025
Amid the global measles epidemic, health authorities warned against vaccination if they are planning to visit overseas such as Vietnam.
Measles is a respiratory infectious disease that spreads to the air through coughing and sneezing, and when infected, fever, rash, and grayish-white spots in the oral cavity appear, and a person with insufficient immunity to measles can be infected more than 90% when contacting the patient.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data, measles is prevalent worldwide, with about 330,000 measles patients in 2024 (as of February 11), followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and many in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, where many Korean people travel. As of 2024, there were 11,062 measles cases in the Western Pacific region, with the Philippines having the highest number of cases with 4001, followed by Malaysia (3753), Vietnam (2105), and China (1026).
There were a total of 49 measles patients in Korea in 2024, and a total of 16 by March 6 this year. All of them were infected by traveling abroad or contacting patients in Korea. In particular, two people in December 2024 and 13 of the confirmed cases until March this year have been to Vietnam.
Since December last year, all 13 measles patients with a history of visiting Vietnam do not know or do not have a history of measles vaccination. The ages range from 0 years old (3 people) to 50s, especially 4 infants before the first measles vaccination period (12-15 months). The period of stay was at least 5 days and up to 1.5 months, and after returning home, the rash occurred while showing symptoms such as coughing and runny nose with fever.
Although Vietnam is not the country with the highest number of official measles cases, the reason why measles patients with a history of visiting Vietnam have recently been reported in Korea is presumed to be because Vietnam is a preferred country for domestic travelers. According to the Korea Customs Service, the number of visitors to Vietnam reached 4.6 million last year, ranking second behind Japan's 8.8 million. It ranks first in Vietnam's total of 17.58 million foreign tourists last year.
Therefore, if you are planning to visit or travel to countries with measles outbreaks such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China, it is recommended to check your measles vaccination history and visit after vaccination if it is difficult to check your vaccination history.
Measles is 93% preventable in the first dose of the vaccine and 97% preventable in the second dose, so you must be vaccinated with the measles vaccine (MMR) over a total of two doses, 12 to 15 months old and 4 to 6 years old. In particular, infants under the age of 1 with weak immune systems are likely to develop complications such as pneumonia, otitis media, and encephalitis when infected with measles, so it is recommended to refrain from visiting countries with measles as much as possible to pay attention to infection, and to receive an accelerated measles vaccination before departure if visiting is inevitable (more than 6 months old and less than 12 months old). The period from vaccination to defensive immunity formation (usually 2 weeks) should be considered.
Meanwhile, Korea has been designating measles as a quarantine infectious disease since last year as a measles eradication certification country. When returning home, if you have fever or rash, which is a major symptom of measles, you must report your health status to the quarantine officer at the arrival hall (Q-CODE or health status document), and if confirmed as measles, the government will provide medical expenses.
Measles is a respiratory infectious disease that spreads to the air through coughing and sneezing, and when infected, fever, rash, and grayish-white spots in the oral cavity appear, and a person with insufficient immunity to measles can be infected more than 90% when contacting the patient.
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There were a total of 49 measles patients in Korea in 2024, and a total of 16 by March 6 this year. All of them were infected by traveling abroad or contacting patients in Korea. In particular, two people in December 2024 and 13 of the confirmed cases until March this year have been to Vietnam.
Since December last year, all 13 measles patients with a history of visiting Vietnam do not know or do not have a history of measles vaccination. The ages range from 0 years old (3 people) to 50s, especially 4 infants before the first measles vaccination period (12-15 months). The period of stay was at least 5 days and up to 1.5 months, and after returning home, the rash occurred while showing symptoms such as coughing and runny nose with fever.
Although Vietnam is not the country with the highest number of official measles cases, the reason why measles patients with a history of visiting Vietnam have recently been reported in Korea is presumed to be because Vietnam is a preferred country for domestic travelers. According to the Korea Customs Service, the number of visitors to Vietnam reached 4.6 million last year, ranking second behind Japan's 8.8 million. It ranks first in Vietnam's total of 17.58 million foreign tourists last year.
Therefore, if you are planning to visit or travel to countries with measles outbreaks such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China, it is recommended to check your measles vaccination history and visit after vaccination if it is difficult to check your vaccination history.
Measles is 93% preventable in the first dose of the vaccine and 97% preventable in the second dose, so you must be vaccinated with the measles vaccine (MMR) over a total of two doses, 12 to 15 months old and 4 to 6 years old. In particular, infants under the age of 1 with weak immune systems are likely to develop complications such as pneumonia, otitis media, and encephalitis when infected with measles, so it is recommended to refrain from visiting countries with measles as much as possible to pay attention to infection, and to receive an accelerated measles vaccination before departure if visiting is inevitable (more than 6 months old and less than 12 months old). The period from vaccination to defensive immunity formation (usually 2 weeks) should be considered.
Meanwhile, Korea has been designating measles as a quarantine infectious disease since last year as a measles eradication certification country. When returning home, if you have fever or rash, which is a major symptom of measles, you must report your health status to the quarantine officer at the arrival hall (Q-CODE or health status document), and if confirmed as measles, the government will provide medical expenses.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
