I am Pier Luigi Lopalco, heading the Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Programme of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the ECDC's positions or opinions.

A prestigious medical journal published a paper suggesting an association between use of safety belts in cars and lung cancer. The hypothesis was very sophisticated butthe biological link unclear;  the author of the study…

According to officially reported data, vaccine coverage levels for measles, mumps and rubella vaccination (MMR) are around 90% or above in most EU countries. Then, why do we still see measles spreading in Europe? The reason has to be attributed to the fact that measles is a very contagious disease. In a susceptible population, ie the non-immune population, one single case of measles can generate up to 15 secondary cases. Simple mathematical modelling demonstrates that more than 95% of the…