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. 2024 May 2:12:1330205.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1330205. eCollection 2024.

Measles outbreak investigation in Berhet District, North Shewa, Ethiopia

Affiliations

Measles outbreak investigation in Berhet District, North Shewa, Ethiopia

Yohannes Shimelis et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Measles, though usually self-limiting, can have severe consequences influenced by factors such as vaccination and nutrition, notably vitamin A deficiency and malnutrition. Despite progress, contextual changes and implementation issues have hampered efforts, resulting in increased outbreaks and cases of measles. This study seeks to pinpoint outbreak features, risk factors, and strategies for preventing and controlling measles.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study and a 1:2 unmatched case-control study design were employed. All 101 suspected measles cases listed on the line-list were included in the descriptive research, with 60 measles patients and 120 controls included in the case-control investigation. Line-list data were cleaned and analyzed using a pivot table in Microsoft Excel 2016. Subsequently, the data were cleaned, entered into Epi Info 7.2, and exported to SPSS 26 for analysis.

Results: Twenty cases occurred per 10,000 individuals. Men accounted for 67.3% of cases, with ages ranging from 5 months to 45 years and mean and standard deviations of 9.6 and 7.6, respectively. Age group of 5-14 years comprised 57.4% of cases, followed by 1-4 years with 24.8%. Being unvaccinated against measles showed an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 12.06 (95% CI: 3.12-46.52). Travel history to regions with active cases had an AOR of 5.73 (95% CI: 1.78-18.38). Contact with a measles patient showed an AOR of 10.3 (95% CI: 3.48-30.5). Understanding the measles transmission mechanism had an AOR of 0.164 (95% CI: 0.049-0.55), and awareness of the disease's preventability had an AOR of 0.233 (95% CI: 0.67-0.811). All factors were independently associated with the illness.

Conclusion: This outbreak affected a broader age range with a high attack rate, mainly in the age group of 5-14-years. Over 35% of cases lacked measles vaccination, indicating low administrative vaccine coverage. Factors contributing to the outbreak include lack of measles vaccination, travel to areas with active disease, contact with cases, and insufficient knowledge of measles transmission and prevention strategies among mothers and caregivers.

Keywords: Berhet district; Ethiopia; Northshewa; measles; outbreak.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of the study area.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportions of measles cases by age group in Berehet district, Amhara region, Ethiopia, 2022.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of measles cases by kebele in Berhet district, Amhara, Ethiopia, 2022.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Epi Curve of the outbreak based on the date of onset of rash in Berhet district, Amhara region, Ethiopia, 2022.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Vaccination status of measles cases in Berhet district, Amhara, Ethiopia, 2022.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Coverage of MCV1 and MCV2 in Berhet district, North Shewa, Amhara region, 2022.

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Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.