Epidemiology of hospitalizations caused by measles in the general population in Spain (1997–2006)

Abstract

Measles causes considerable morbidity and mortality and can present serious complications despite the existence of effective vaccines. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence of hospitalizations from measles in Spain from 1997 to 2006. A retrospective study was conducted using data from the National Epidemiological Surveillance System for hospital data (hospital discharge minimum basic data set) and information was obtained on the incidence of hospitalizations, age, of stay, mortality, and associated costs. In this period, 347 hospitalizations from measles (International Classification of Diseases-9, clinical modification code 055 in any diagnostic position) were recorded, which equals an overall annual hospitalization rate of 0.086 per 100,000 inhabitants. The hospitalization rate significantly changed during two outbreaks that occurred during the study time period. The median length of stay was 5 days. There were five deaths over the 10 year period; all patients who died were over 30 years of age. The death rate in hospitalized measles cases was 1.4%. The annual average total cost due to hospitalizations for the National Health System was 81,540 Euros. The epidemiological pattern suggests that despite the vaccination success, there are groups susceptible to falling ill, as is demonstrated by the outbreaks that occurred. Therefore, the World Health Organization recommendations for the elimination of measles must be carefully followed, so that the number of hospitalizations and of complications entailed with the disease continue to decrease.