Since 2008 France has been affected by an outbreak of measles that is spreading outside its borders and whose toll is increasing at an impressive speed. The United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency has consequently urged parents to protect their children against measles by ensuring that they have been vaccinated with two doses of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine before they travel abroad.

In 2006 and 2007 about 40 cases a year were reported to the French surveillance agency, the Institut de Veille Sanitaire. This figure rose to 600 in 2008, 1500 in 2009, and more than 5000 in 2010. The trend shows no signs of slowing, as more than 6400 cases …