Effects of supplemental measles immunization on cases of measles admitted at the Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND

Measles is a highly contagious vaccine-preventable infection which continues to be a significant cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries particularly those with poor routine immunisation coverage. Supplemental immunisation activities (SIAs) were thus introduced to improve vaccine coverage.

OBJECTIVE

This study was carried out to assess the impact of the supplemental measles vaccinations on the cases of measles admitted at a tertiary health facility in South west Nigeria.

METHODS

Weretrospectivelylooked at therecords of cases of measles in children admitted to the Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa over a ten year period (2001 - 2010); five years before and five years after the nationwide commencement of supplemental measles immunisation activities (SIAs) in the region in 2006. Measles cases were defined using the WHO case definition.

RESULTS

Over the ten year study period, a total of 12,139 children were admitted andmanaged; out of which 302 (2.5%) were cases of complicated measles. There was no difference in the mean (SD) of children admitted in the years before and after the introduction of the SIAs {6040 (122.7) vs.6099 (120.2); t-test 0.02, p =0.988.} There was however a remarkable reduction in the proportion of the cases of measles admitted after the introduction of SIAs compared to the period before SIAs (4.3% vs. 0.6% x2=169.580; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

SIAs have remarkably reduced morbidity and mortality associated with measles in the region. We advocate for sustenance of these efforts as well as improvement in routine immunisation coverage to avoid a backlash which can lead to devastating measles outbreak.