A Retrospective Study of Epidemiological Factors Associated with Measles in Children (0–5 Years) in Four Villages of Barabanki District in Rural Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Measles is a leading cause of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available to prevent the disease. The objective of the present study was to study the epidemiology of measles in children (0–5 years) in the four villages of Barabanki district in rural Uttar Pradesh and also to study various factors responsible for measles in rural Uttar Pradesh. It is a retrospective cross-sectional epidemiological study conducted in the four villages in Barabanki. A total of 2220 children (1225 male and 995 female) were selected. All the houses having children 0–5 years were taken up for the study. The mothers were interviewed with a pretested, structured questionnaire and data was analyzed by SPSS Software, version 16.0. In the present study, 25.27% children were normal, 53.92% children were malnourished (Grade I), 15.63% were having Grade II and 5.18% Grade III malnutrition as per Gomez classification. Measles vaccine was not given in 77.61% children and in only 22.39% it was given. Most of the measles cases (32.94%) occurred during the winter season between December to February, showing the normal seasonal trend of measles.

Keywords: Measles, malnutrition, rural area