An epidemic caused by measles virus type D6 in Turkey.
In this study, the extent of measles outbreak was investigated in the Idil and Cizre counties of Sirnak Province. New cases determined in patients who applied to primary care clinics and those detected during home visits were evaluated. In 2001, a total of 2,143 cases reported in Sirnak Province were signified as a probable outbreak. Three hundred and thirty-three patients in Cizre and 219 patients in Idil applied to the primary care clinics. Of the cases, in Cizre 8.4% (n=28) and in Idil 6.4% (n=14) were infants aged nine months and younger who had not yet been vaccinated. Totally, 17 new cases (8 in Cizre and 9 in Idil) in the exanthema phase were determined during home visits and these were considered as outbreak cases. Virus isolation was achieved in 12 cases. All isolates were sent to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for genotyping and classified as D6 group. In conclusion, measles epidemics are still seen in our country. Therefore, measles outbreaks necessitate intensive intervention by physicians who are employed in primary health care services.
Ceylan
Ali
A
Department of Public Health, Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
Ertem
Melikşah
M
Korukluoğlu
Güllay
G
Acemoğlu
Hamit
H
Kara
Ismail Hamdi
IH
Erten
Pakize Gamze
PG
Arslan
Cem
C
Ay
Mehmet Emin
ME
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D008459:Measles virus / Q000145:classification; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology