Measles susceptibility in children in Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

Measles, despite being vaccine preventable is still a major public health problem in many developing countries. We estimated the proportion of measles susceptible children in Karachi, the largest metropolitan city of Pakistan, one year after the nationwide measles supplementary immunization activity (SIA) of 2007–08. Oral fluid specimens of 504 randomly selected children from Karachi, aged 12–59 months were collected to detect measles IgG antibodies. Measles antibodies were detected in only 55% children. The proportion of children whose families reported receiving a single or two doses of measles vaccine were 78% and 12% respectively. Only 3% of parents reported that their child received measles vaccine through the SIA. Among the reported single dose measles vaccine recipients, 58% had serologic immunity against measles while amongst the reported two dose measles vaccine recipients, 64% had evidence of measles immunity. Urgent strengthening of routine immunization services and high quality mass vaccination campaigns against measles are recommended to achieve measles elimination in Pakistan.

Does Measles Vaccination Reduce the Risk of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) and Diarrhea in Children: A Multi-Country Study?

“…At present, the routine immunization schedule in both India and Pakistan includes two doses of measles vaccine. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria, the first dose is given through the routine immunization schedule and the second dose is given through SIA [54,55]. …”

Monitoring polio supplementary immunization activities using an automated short text messaging system in Karachi, Pakistan

“…8 This monitoring system is resource-intensive, utilizes convenience sampling and is prone to misreporting bias since the same individuals often supervise both the vaccinations and the evaluation of vaccine coverage. 9 It also exposes the members of the evaluation teams to the risk of violence, especially in certain locations with poor security. More than 16 vaccinators associated with polio vaccination campaigns have been assassinated in various parts of Pakistan since December 2012.…”

Predictors of Vaccination Card Retention in Children 12-59 months old in Karachi, Pakistan

“…5,6 Another study correlating reported vaccination history with serology in Pakistan, revealed that only 54% of the children whose parents reported measles vaccination by recall, actually had serological immunity against measles. 8 Low card retention and parental recall lead to questionable estimation of coverage, 7 hence, vaccination coverage surveys should use them in conjunction.…”