Mass immunisation campaign in a Roma settled community created an opportunity to estimate its size and measles vaccination uptake, Poland, 2009.

During a mass immunisation campaign following an outbreak of measles in a Roma community settled in the town of Pulawy, Poland, we performed an estimation of the size of this Roma population and an assessment of its vaccination uptake. We obtained a list of Roma residing in Pulawy from the local municipality and estimated using a simple capture-recapture formula that Pulawy had 377 Roma residents (43% under 20 years old), which was 27% more than the 295 registered at the municipality. During the vaccination campaign, demographic information was recorded that could be linked to information from the municipality list as well as to prior immunisation status. Among the people whose data were recorded during the vaccination campaign, 14% were not registered at the primary healthcare centres, and were therefore deprived of access to healthcare. Among 102 screened subjects under the age of 20 years, 51% were vaccinated according to schedule. Vaccine uptake for the first dose of measles-containing vaccine was 56% (54/96) and for the second dose 37% (18/49). The present study indicates the need to get a better demographic overview of Roma communities living in Poland and to understand the barriers limiting their access to healthcare and social services. Organisation of catch-up immunisations of this vulnerable population is necessary.

Spotlight on measles 2010: A measles outbreak in a Roma population in Pulawy, eastern Poland, June to August 2009.

We describe a local indigenous outbreak of measles in a susceptible Roma community, which occurred in Pulawy, a town of 50,000 citizens in the Lubelskie province (eastern Poland) during summer 2009. From 22 June to 30 August 2009, 32 measles cases were reported, and additionally nine possible cases were actively identified. A mass immunisation campaign was organised to stop measles transmission in the Roma community. Active surveillance of rash-febrile illnesses allowed documentation of the impact of mass immunisation in preventing further measles spread in the Roma community, and the surrounding population of Pulawy.

[The incidence of occurrence of various types of viral hepatitis in Lublin district in 1993]. / Czestosc wystepowania poszczególnych typów wir usowego zapalenia watroby w woj. lubelskim w 1993 roku.

224 serum from patients (randomly selected from all patients hospitalized in 3 hospitals in Lublin district in 1993) in the early phase of acute viral hepatitis were tested by immunoenzymatic methods for presence of serologic markers of infections with HAV, HBV, HCV, CMV and EBV. The analysis of the results showed that 19.2% of patients were infected with HAV, 36.6% with HBV, 8% with HCV, 3.6% with CMV and 0.9% with EBV. The remaining 71 cases (31.7%) could apparently be attributed to the infection with HCV. These data showed that 80% of cases of hepatitis due to the parenteral spread of infections agents. We support the postulate that measures to prevent these infections should be strengthened.