Increase in measles cases in a City hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.

OBJECTIVES

Measles cases are increasing remarkably in our country as well as all over the world. In this study, it was aimed to examine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of measles cases detected in our hospital, as well as the measles seroprevalence in our region.

METHODS

A total of 7,452 individuals whose measles IgG and/or IgM antibodies were studied between December 2021 and March 2023 in the Medical Virology Laboratory in Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital were included in this retrospective study. Measles IgG and IgM antibodies were analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Demographic information, clinical symptoms and laboratory data of the participants were obtained from the hospital's electronic medical records.

RESULTS

A total of 102 measles cases were identified between December 2021 and March 2023. Of these cases, 77 (75.5%) patients were ≤ 18 years old. Of the 73 measles cases with vaccination information, 90% were unvaccinated. The measles seroprevalence rate was 72.8%. The lowest seroprevalence rate (4.8%) among the age groups was found in 8-11-month-old babies, the highest cases rate (35.7%) was detected in this age group. It was determined that measles immunity increased with age (r = 0.276, p < 0.001) and was over 89.3% over the age of 30.

CONCLUSIONS

Measles immunity is insufficient in our region and measles remains an important public health problem until the age of 18. The recent increase in measles cases in our country and around the world shows that current vaccination programmes need to be implemented more decisively and strictly.