In 2011, a large number of European countries faced measles outbreaks, France accounting for more than half of the reported cases. The Rhône-Alpes region, located in south-east France, was one of the most affected provinces, with an incidence rate of 97.9 cases per 100 000 inhabitants. We conducted a retrospective survey of adults and parents of children consulting university affiliated public hospitals because of measles infections between January 1, 2010 and September 2012 in Lyon, France. Our main objectives were to evaluate (1) the level of study population knowledge of measles, (2) vaccination practices, and (3) changes in opinion with regard to measles vaccination after disease onset. Overall, 73.64% of patients were not vaccinated or partially vaccinated. The main reason for non-vaccination in children was inappropriate age while among non-vaccinated adults, 29.3% could not give any reason. In total, 29.1% of the responding parents and 24.2% of adult cases were opposed to vaccination "in principle." A large number of patients did not recognize measles as a serious illness and were unaware of its complications. Among parents of infected children, knowledge of transmission mode (odds ratio [OR] = 5.9; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.64-21.26), perceived severity of measles (OR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.06-2.13), and absence of hepatitis B vaccination (OR = 0.17; 95% CI: 0.04-0.65) were independently associated with a more positive opinion about measles vaccination after disease onset. In adult patients, low education level (OR = 3.39; 95% CI: 1.03-11.11) and lack of knowledge of sequelae (OR = 10.19; 95% CI: 1.14-91.31) were linked with a more positive opinion. Individuals affected by vaccine-preventable diseases are interesting populations to study disease impact on vaccine perception.
Keywords: France; MMR; Rhône-Alpes; measles; perception; vaccination.