MEASLES IN ILORIN: AN EPIDEMIC IN THE MIDDLE OF ERADICATION PLANS

Abstract

Forty-one cases of measles were seen within 3 months period in Emergency Paediatric Unit (EPU) of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) as against a recent report from the same center, which reported 52 cases over a 12 months period. More of the patients in this series needed hospitalization. Males were more affected, 17.1% were infants while 12.2% were older than 10 years. Coliforms were isolated from 40% of the positive blood cultures. Pneumonia was the leading complication and sultamycillin was the commonly used antibiotics. The mean duration of hospital stay was 6.3 days (SD=2.9) and case fatality was 14.6%. This pattern in the middle belt region of Nigeria represents an epidemic. This occurring at a time when a global eradication is being planned and anticipated, calls for a re-appraisal of the dynamics and logistics of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI)


Key Words: Measles; Epidemics; Global Eradication.


Afr. J. Clin. Exper. Microbiol. 2004; 5(2): 203 – 207.