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. 2003 May 15:187 Suppl 1:S241-5.
doi: 10.1086/368047.

Measles outbreak in Sri Lanka, 1999-2000

John P A Puvimanasinghe  1 , Carukshi K Arambepola, Nihal M R Abeysinghe, Lalani C Rajapaksa, Tilak A Kulatilaka
Affiliations

Measles outbreak in Sri Lanka, 1999-2000

John P A Puvimanasinghe et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

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.

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