Measles vaccination coverage and reasons for non-vaccination

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) has set the target of global control and eradication of measles during the coming decade. The global strategy began in the 1990s, and many countries implemented immunization and enhanced measles surveillance policies during the late 1990s. Due to the highly infectious nature of the measles virus, 90–95% vaccination coverage is needed to interrupt its transmission. According to the Turkish Demographic and Health Survey in 2003, the coverage of one dose of measles vaccine in Turkey is 79.4%. Measles vaccination was introduced in Turkey in the 1970s. Since 1998, it has been administered as two doses of vaccine at 9 months and during the first year of primary school as part of the routine vaccination schedule recommended by the WHO. All vaccines included in the national vaccination schedule are provided free of charge in primary healthcare services throughout Turkey. In addition to routine vaccinations, additional campaigns have been undertaken as part of the measles elimination programme in Turkey. The primary objective of this study was to determine the coverage of measles vaccination during the measles immunization days (MIDs) in 2005 for children aged 9 months to 6 years in Kazim