Comparative seroprevalence of measles virus immunoglobulin M antibodies in children aged 0-8 months and a control population aged 9-23 months presenting with measles-like symptoms in selected hospitals in Kaduna State

International Journal of General Medicine
A E OlaitanJ B Ameh

Abstract

Measles remains the leading cause of vaccine-preventable childhood mortality in developing countries, with its greatest incidence in children younger than 2 years of age. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of measles virus in children (aged 0-8 months) and older children (aged 9-23 months) presenting with measles-like symptoms. A total of 273 blood samples comprising 200 from children aged 0-8 months and 73 from children aged 9-23 months were collected and analyzed for measles virus IgM antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. An overall prevalence of 21.2% was obtained, with a prevalence of 6.5% in children aged 0-8 months and 61.6% in children aged 9-23 months. The prevalence of measles virus increased with age in children aged 0-8 months and decreased with age in older children (aged 9-23 months), showing a significant association between measles virus and age of the child (P=0.000). A higher prevalence was found in females (27.5%) than in males (16.3%) and this difference was significant (odds ratio 1.942, P=0.025). There was no significant association with the level of parental education, parental occupation, or number of children in the family (P>0.05). With respect to children's vaccination...Continue Reading

Methods Mentioned

BETA
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Software Mentioned

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
Excel

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