Measles in Zaporizhzhia: in the footsteps of the last epidemic

Abstract

In 2017–2019 in Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia region, a strong rise in the incidence of measles was recorded. A retrospective analysis of the incidence in the Zaporizhzhia region during this outbreak allows us to identify the main problems in the system of epidemiological surveillance to predict future possible consequences.
 The aim of the work is to perform a comparative analysis of measles incidence in the Zaporizhzhia region with the data obtained in the period from 2015 to 2020 according to the epidemiological criteria.
 Materials and methods. The annual reports of 2015–2020 provided by the Department of Epidemiological Research of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Laboratory Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine were used as materials for the retrospective epidemiological analysis of measles incidence in Zaporizhzhia region. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out according to epidemiological characteristics: age distribution, the residence of patients in urban or rural areas. Commonly used statistical methods used in medicine were used to evaluate the obtained results.
 Results. It is concluded that in the Zaporizhzhia region during 2015 only 2 cases of measles were detected for children, and in 2016 no measles were registered in the region at all. In 2017–2019 1.433 measles patients were identified in the Zaporizhzhia region, of which 68 % were adults and 32 % were children. The lowest detection rate of measles was registered among rural residents. Insufficient vaccination coverage of the population has become a significant reason for the spread of measles among residents of the Zaporizhzhia region. In 2020 no cases of measles have been registered in the Zaporizhzhia region.
 Conclusions. The prevalence of incidence rate among adults attests to the fact that today measles can not be considered only a childhood disease. The deficiency of an immune layer, both among adults and children, contributed to the rapid spread of the disease. Mandatory vaccination of children and the introduction of additional vaccination of adults, optimizing the system of epidemiological surveillance for measles, including continuous monitoring of vaccination, is the main mechanism for combating this disease.