International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 28, 558-562, Copyright © 1999 by International Epidemiological Association
P Godoy, A Dominguez, J Alvarez, N Camps, JM Jansa, S Minguell and L Salleras
BACKGROUND: To analyse progress in measles control it is recommended that
immunization programmes be evaluated by means of specific epidemiological
disease surveillance. The aim of the study was to analyse a series of
measles cases in Catalonia in the light of vaccination records. METHODS:
Cases were detected by means of the epidemiological surveillance system and
then surveyed for information on: age, sex, clinical symptoms, laboratory
confirmation, record of vaccination, place of infection and possible
outbreak-related links. The relationship between 'record of vaccination'
and the remaining variables was determined using the adjusted odds ratio
(OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The epidemiological
survey confirmed that 82.2% of patients (171/208) fulfilled the case
criteria. In the multivariate analysis, lack of record of vaccination was
associated with age groups < 5 years (OR = 4.0; 95% CI: 1.4-11.8) and
> 14 years (OR = 19.2; 95% CI: 5.1-220.5). CONCLUSIONS: Improvement in
vaccination coverage at 15 months and the introduction of
vaccination-status monitoring at school-entry age and among those aged >
14 years on entry into the job market, university or military service could
contribute to the elimination of measles.
ARTICLES
Measles epidemiology in Catalonia (Spain): implications for a regional vaccination programme
Faculty of Medicine, University of Lleida, Spain.
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