title: An epidemic caused by measles virus type D6 in Turkey.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ceylan
authors.forename: Melikşah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ertem
authors.forename: Güllay
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Korukluoğlu
authors.forename: Hamit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Acemoğlu
authors.forename: Ismail Hamdi
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.forename: Pakize Gamze
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Erten
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: Mehmet Emin
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ay
mesh_terms: 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