Descriptive Characterisation of Suspected Measles Cases in Sokoto State 2010 -2016: A Secondary Data Analysis

Background: Measles is a disease with worldwide distribution; however, control efforts have substantially altered the global distribution. The incidence has decreased considerably in regions where routine vaccination is strong; however, this is not the case in developing countries like Nigeria. This study aims to describe the distribution of measles cases in Sokoto state in time, place and person. Methods: Descriptive analyses of measles surveillance data between 2010 and 2016 was carried out to describe the epidemiology of measles in Sokoto State in Time, Place and Person. Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS were used to analyse the data. We reported frequencies and proportions; cross-tabulations and chi-square tests were used to find associations between variables. Results: A total of 13974 suspected cases of measles were line-listed between January 2010 and June 2016. Overall, 11008 (78.8%) were below five years, and 7421 (53.1%) were males. A majority, 12896 (92%), of the suspected measles cases were reported in the first half of each year of evaluation. Gwadabawa Local Government Area (LGA) recorded the highest measles cases, 1881 (14%). Ten thousand and twenty-seven (71.8%) of suspected measles cases did not receive the measles vaccine. The overall Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 0.9%. However, Bodinga LGA had the highest CFR of 4%. Only 605(4%) suspected measles cases were tested for Measles IgM. One hundred and twenty-five (0.9%) deaths were recorded. Factors significantly associated with deaths are measles vaccination status (p = 0.001) and admission status (p < 0.001). Conclusion: There is the persistence of measles over the period affecting primarily children below five years with a low CFR. However, a majority of the children did not receive their measles vaccine. Based on this finding, measles will remain a public health problem unless significant efforts are put into place to increase vaccination coverage.