Who Would Get Measles in Petaling District? A Trend Analysis of Measles Outbreak From 2014-2018

ABSTRACT

@#Introduction: Measles outbreaks are endemic in Southeast Asia. A possible reason for such outbreaks is low vaccine coverage. In Malaysia, there is a lack of studies on measles outbreaks. The urban district of Petaling in Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia, reported a high number of outbreaks in 2014–2018. Thus, we analysed the trend of measles outbreaks and identify the common characteristics of measles cases in Petaling District. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using secondary data from the Petaling District Health Office online surveillance system. Data from 2014 until 2018 from the e-Measles and eWabak systems were extracted, and the trend and common characteristics of measles cases were analysed. Results: A total of 48 outbreaks involving 124 cases were reported during the period investigated. The outbreaks showed an increasing trend from 2.1% in 2014 to 37.5% in 2016, and decreased slightly from 29.2% in 2017 to 27.1% in 2018. The common characteristics were age 1 to <7 years (50.8%), female sex (55.6%), Malay ethnicity (89.5%), Malaysian citizenship (95.2%) and being unvaccinated (55.6%). Of the cases, 63.7% were admitted to hospital, and siblings were the common source of infection (75.8%). Most cases occurred at home (75.8%). Most of the children who were infected at home were unvaccinated (60.6%). Conclusion: Unvaccinated children aged 1 to <7 years are at highest risk of contracting measles and spreading it to their siblings. Thus, awareness of the importance of vaccination needs to be emphasized to their parents to prevent related issues such as vaccine hesitancy.