title: A descriptive profile and the immune status of some hospitalised patients with measles.
abstract: The incidence of measles in Singapore has declined with the introduction of measles vaccination in 1976. However, a progressive increase in notified measles cases has occurred since 1990. To characterise the current profile of hospitalised patients with measles, particularly their measles immunity status, we analysed 46 cases over a period of 3 months. The majority (69.6%) were school-going children (aged 5-19 years). Of the 25 patients (54.3%) classified as preventable by immunisation according to the current strategy, 68% were school-age persons. Five previously vaccinated patients had measles enzyme immunoassay immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G antibodies present. The occurrence of preventable cases among school-age children indicates that the implementation of the current immunisation programme should be improved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease, Communicable Disease Centre, Singapore.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lateef
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doraisingham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008458:Measles Vaccine; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D008458:Measles Vaccine