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Epidemiology of measles in Taiwan: dynamics of transmission and timeliness of reporting during an epidemic in 1988–9

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

M. S. Lee ,
C. C. King ,
C. J. Chen ,
S. Y. Yang  and
M. S. Ho
M. S. Lee
Affiliation:
Institute of Epidemiology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC)
C. C. King*
Affiliation:
Institute of Epidemiology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC)
C. J. Chen
Affiliation:
Institute of Epidemiology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC)
S. Y. Yang
Affiliation:
Bureau of Communicable Diseases Control, Department of Health, Taiwan, ROC
M. S. Ho
Affiliation:
Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
*
* Author for correspondence: Dr C. C. King, Institute of Epidemiology, National Taiwan University. Rm. 1549, No. 1 Jen-Ai Road Sec. 1. Taipei, Taiwan 100, Republic of China.
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We analysed nation-wide reported measles cases during the 1988–9 epidemic and found that longer duration and wider spread were two major characteristics of the outbreak. All the 22 county/city index cases were reported with a delay of > 4 days and 64% were aged 5–14 years. This epidemic occurred mainly among 5–14-year-old school-children (59%), infants under 1 year (19%), and pre-school children (18%). The overall attack rate was 0·63 cases per 10000 population, with the highest attack rate (7·4 cases per 10000 population) occurring in infants. Among 280 confirmed cases <15 months of age, 9-month-old infants (42 cases) had a higher risk of measles and peaked at 10 months (49 cases). This epidemic started in March 1988 among 5–9-year-old children in the northern suburban area, then spread to Taipei City and neighbouring counties or cities. It continued to spread from the northern to southern and western areas during the summer vacation and New Year holidays. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the delay of measles reporting was strongly associated with the cases infected early in the epidemic (OR= 6·9, P < 0·001) and reported from teaching hospitals (OR = 2·6, P < 0·001). The reappearance of high attack rates among 5–9-year-old children in the 1985 and 1988–9 measles epidemics in Taiwan indicated the persistence of pockets of susceptible individuals even after mass immunization.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 114 , Issue 2 , April 1995 , pp. 345 - 359
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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