Measles outbreak in Sri Lanka, 1999-2000.
A large measles outbreak occurred in Sri Lanka from October 1999 through June 2000 following a period of low incidence. During this period, >15,000 suspected cases were reported to the central Epidemiological Unit of the Department of Health Services. The outbreak was investigated through review of surveillance data for 1999-2000, which were compared with previous surveillance data. Among the clinically confirmed cases, the highest morbidity rate (114/100,000 population) was observed among children <9 months of age. Nearly 54% of the cases were among persons >/=15 years old, and this percentage had increased over the previous decade. Forty percent of cases had a history of measles vaccination. There were 5 deaths, giving a case-fatality rate of 0.1%. Action taken during the outbreak and plans for future outbreak prevention strategies were also evaluated.
Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. j.p.a.puvimanasinghe@erasmusmc.nl
John P A
JP
Puvimanasinghe
Carukshi K
CK
Arambepola
Nihal M R
NM
Abeysinghe
Lalani C
LC
Rajapaksa
Tilak A
TA
Kulatilaka
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018563:Disease Notification; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D007223:Infant; D008457:Measles / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008458:Measles Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D013188:Sri Lanka / Q000453:epidemiology
D008458:Measles Vaccine