FIVE YEARS MEASLES PREVALENCE IN FAFAN ZONE, SOMALI REGION, EASTERN ETHIOPIA: DESCRIPTIVE SURVEILLANCE DATA ANALYSIS

Abstract

Introduction: Measles is a highly infectious and serious respiratory viral disease caused by a virus. It is a significant cause of illness and death worldwide. In Ethiopia, measles remains a disease of public health importance with an annual incidence of 15 per 100,000 populations. Many studies were done in different parts of the country and worldwide on risk factors associated with measles but the little study was tried to describe its prevalence and trend in the Fafan zone. This study, therefore, intended to bridge this information gap by assessing the five years of measles prevalence and trends in Fafan zone and to update the previous knowledge on the same problem. Objective: This data analysis was conducted to assess the prevalence and trends of measles infection in the Fafan zone of Somali region five-year data analysis (September 2015 up to September 2019) from November 20-30/2019. Methods: Descriptive study design of five years of measles surveillance data analysis was conducted in the Fafan zone of the Somali region. We reviewed line list records and Health Information Management System reports. The data was collected by a standardized checklist, was checked for completeness, and then entered into EPI-Data version 3.1 for data editing and cleaning and analyzed by SPSS version 23.0 software package. The trends in the prevalence of measles are presented by tables and graphs. The analyzed data are presented using frequencies, proportions, median, and range. Results: A total of 332 measles cases were identified. Among the total suspected measles cases, 296 (89%) were epidemiologically linked measles cases 23 (6.9%) were laboratory confirmed measles cases, 7 (2.1%) were clinically compatible measles cases, and the rest 6(1.8%) were measles IgM negative cases. Among the total measles cases; 79(23.8%) of them were not vaccinated, 78(23.5%) of them get vaccination with one dose while the vaccination status of the rest about 175(53 %) of the cases is unknown. Conclusion and Recommendation: Our analysis revealed that during the five years, the prevalence and trend of the reporting rate of measles were higher among 5 up to 15 yrears children than the other age group. The trend of measles has been on the rise mostly affecting children one up to four years, and five up to 14 years. Routine immunization should be strengthened to reach all children through well-monitored vaccine cold chain management.