An epidemiological study of measles epidemic in district Bhilwara, Rajasthan
Sharma, R.S.
Journal of Communicable Diseases 20(4): 301-311
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-5138 PMID: 3268594 Document Number: 309254
Bhilwara district of Rajasthan had measles epidemic during February-March 1984. Investigation in two villages showed attack rates of 73 and and 24.8 per cent in 0-14 years age group. Household attack rates were 65.3 and 36 per cent respectively. The significantly different (p < 0.001) attack rate in two villages was due to different epidemiological situations. Case fatality rate was 14.3 per cent. Unusually higher attack rates of 65.1, 44.2 and 16.5 per cent among 2-4, 5-9 and 10-14 years children respectively were due to build-up of herd susceptibility. Secondary attack rate was 51.9 per cent. Transmissibility index (number of secondary cases per primary case) increased linearly from 0.6 among two-child families to 3.1 among families of 5 or more children with the correlation co-efficient r = + 0.78 and at p < 0.01, 91.7 per cent of the cases had one or more complications. Diarrhoea, respiratory infections and both accounted for 53, 15 and 24 per cent of complications. 38 per cent of these complications were of severe nature. Mean duration of illness was 16 days. Serological tests and viral isolation in selected cases confirmed the clinical diagnosis.