2002 Volume 112 Issue 3 Pages 255-260
We report five patients with adult measles from an outbreak occurring at a foster care facility. All had delayed mental development and had been residents of a foster care facility located near Dokkyo University School of Medicine for more than 20 years. The five patients developed measles essentially simultaneously and had a favorable clinical course during inpatient treatment. Titers of antibody against measles, rubella, mumps, and varicella zoster had been measured in all the residents of this facility in 1999 (61 patients) and were helpful in the early prediction of the outbreak and establishing the diagnosis. Although all the residents of this facility are adults, the viral seroprevalence was 86.9% for measles, 45.9% for rubella, 67.2% for mumps, and 93.4% for varicella zoster. The seroprevalences for measles and rubella were lower than those in the general adult population ; this may be due to a higher number of unvaccinated individuals and a lower likelihood of infections at a residential facility in an environment located away from the general society. Attention is required because of the increased risk of outbreaks among those living in a group setting in a closed environment. Based on our experience, we believe that viral titer screening may be useful at other similar facilities.
