Measles and age of vaccination.
Measles is responsible for high morbidity and mortality in children particularly in developing countries. Infants, found by analytical studies to constitute a high risk group, are usually not covered by current vaccination programmes. In Kuwait in the epidemic years during the period 1976-1982, the incidence of measles in infants under one year was found to be more than five times that in the population over one year of age, ranging between 758 and 992 per 100000 live births. During this period as many as one fifth of the total cases (13.3-21.7%) and about one-third of the total deaths (35%) occurred in infants. The mean fatality rate for infants under one year was 3.3 while for the population one year and above it was 1.4. As the immunity derived from the mother declines markedly a large majority of children over six months of age become susceptible to measles. There is a strong case for lowering the age of vaccination against measles to protect the infants, at least in the developing countries, and to control and eventually eradicate the disease.
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008457:Measles / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination