Clinical and Molecular Epidemiological Characteristics in Children with Measles / 实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the clinical and molecular epidemiology in children with measles in Shanghai and identify the clinical characteristics and the prevalent genotype of measles virus.Methods The clinical features of measles-such as ages of onset,crowds and epidemiological data were retrospectively analyzed in 39 children with measles from Nov.2005 to Jun.2006 in Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University.Results of blood routine test,liver function test and chest X-ray were also included.Sputum examinations were carried out on the ones who had bronchitis or bronchopneumonia.Throat swab specimen within 3 days of the onset of rashes were collected and were sent to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of Shanghai to isolate measles virus,then the genotypes of the isolated viruses were determined subsequently in CDC of China.Results Twenty-nine cases out of the 39 children were from foreign provinces (74.36%).Among of them,24 cases were younger than (or as young as) 9 months old.Among the 39 cases,35 children had never been inoculated with measles vaccine,and to speak of the ones who were younger than 8 months,the ratio was 57.14%.Five cases out of the 39 children had contacted with measles sufferers.Clinical manifestation were fever,rashes,Koplik spots and catarrh.Twenty-three cases were co-infected with respiratory system and only 8 cases were identified as infection with bacteria or other viruses.The genotype of all analyzed measles viruses belongs to H1a.Conclusions There are also some changes in age groups and endemic distribution,such as younger age and more immigrants except for the typical clinical manifestation of fever,rashes,Koplik spots and catarrh.The predominant genotype is still H1a as in most parts of China.There is no evidence to demonstrate any relationship between the raised morbidity of measles and the genovariation of measles virus.