Measles epidemiology in Catalonia (Spain): implications for a regional vaccination programme

Abstract

Background: To analyse progress in measles control it is recommended that immunization programmes be evaluated by means of specific epidemiological disease surveillance. The aim of the study was to analyse a series of measles cases in Catalonia in the light of vaccination records.

Methods: Cases were detected by means of the epidemiological surveillance system and then surveyed for information on: age, sex, clinical symptoms, laboratory confirmation, record of vaccination, place of infection and possible outbreak-related links. The relationship between 'record of vaccination' and the remaining variables was determined using the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: The epidemiological survey confirmed that 82.2% of patients (171/208) fulfilled the case criteria. In the multivariate analysis, lack of record of vaccination was associated with age groups < 5 years (OR = 4.0; 95% CI: 1.4-11.8) and > 14 years (OR = 19.2; 95% CI: 5.1-220.5).

Conclusions: Improvement in vaccination coverage at 15 months and the introduction of vaccination-status monitoring at school-entry age and among those aged > 14 years on entry into the job market, university or military service could contribute to the elimination of measles.