The role of sex in the transmission of measles in a Gambian village.
Data from the 1984-1985 epidemic of measles in Keneba, a Gambian village, have been reanalysed in order to test the effect of same sex vs. opposite sex transmission of measles on the severity of infection. A person infected by someone of the opposite sex was more likely to have severe infection with pulmonary complications than a person infected by someone of the same sex [RR (relative risk) = 2.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.9-9.7]. A secondary case infected by someone of the opposite sex was significantly more likely to have a more severe illness relative to the primary case than a patient infected by someone of the same sex (P = 0.026, Fisher's exact test). There were slightly more female than male primary cases while male secondary cases had a higher risk than female cases of being infected by someone of the opposite sex (RR = 2.6, 95% CI: 0.9-6.9).
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Institute of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lamb
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D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors