Abstract
During 1988 through 1990, California experienced its worst measles epidemic in more than a decade, with 16,400 reported cases, 3,390 hospital admissions, and 75 deaths. More than half of the patients were younger than 5 years; the highest incidence was among infants younger than 12 months. The epidemic centered in low-income Hispanic communities in southern and central California. The major cause of the epidemic was low immunization levels among preschool-aged children and young adults. Rates of complications, admission to hospital, and death were surprisingly high. Outbreak control efforts met with indeterminate success. Problems with these efforts included insufficient funding early in the epidemic and disappointing public response to community- based immunization campaigns. The cost of medical care and outbreak control for the epidemic is conservatively estimated at $30.9 million. Unless the level of immunization in preschool-aged children is increased, this type of epidemic will probably recur.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 455-464 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Western Journal of Medicine |
| Volume | 159 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - 1993 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
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Measles epidemic from failure to immunize. / Dales, L. G.; Kizer, Kenneth W; Rutherford, G. W.; Pertowski, C. A.; Waterman, S. H.; Woodford, G.
In: Western Journal of Medicine, Vol. 159, No. 4, 1993, p. 455-464.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Measles epidemic from failure to immunize
AU - Dales, L. G.
AU - Kizer, Kenneth W
AU - Rutherford, G. W.
AU - Pertowski, C. A.
AU - Waterman, S. H.
AU - Woodford, G.
PY - 1993
Y1 - 1993
N2 - During 1988 through 1990, California experienced its worst measles epidemic in more than a decade, with 16,400 reported cases, 3,390 hospital admissions, and 75 deaths. More than half of the patients were younger than 5 years; the highest incidence was among infants younger than 12 months. The epidemic centered in low-income Hispanic communities in southern and central California. The major cause of the epidemic was low immunization levels among preschool-aged children and young adults. Rates of complications, admission to hospital, and death were surprisingly high. Outbreak control efforts met with indeterminate success. Problems with these efforts included insufficient funding early in the epidemic and disappointing public response to community- based immunization campaigns. The cost of medical care and outbreak control for the epidemic is conservatively estimated at $30.9 million. Unless the level of immunization in preschool-aged children is increased, this type of epidemic will probably recur.
AB - During 1988 through 1990, California experienced its worst measles epidemic in more than a decade, with 16,400 reported cases, 3,390 hospital admissions, and 75 deaths. More than half of the patients were younger than 5 years; the highest incidence was among infants younger than 12 months. The epidemic centered in low-income Hispanic communities in southern and central California. The major cause of the epidemic was low immunization levels among preschool-aged children and young adults. Rates of complications, admission to hospital, and death were surprisingly high. Outbreak control efforts met with indeterminate success. Problems with these efforts included insufficient funding early in the epidemic and disappointing public response to community- based immunization campaigns. The cost of medical care and outbreak control for the epidemic is conservatively estimated at $30.9 million. Unless the level of immunization in preschool-aged children is increased, this type of epidemic will probably recur.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0027376570&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 8273330
AN - SCOPUS:0027376570
VL - 159
SP - 455
EP - 464
JO - Western Journal of Medicine
JF - Western Journal of Medicine
SN - 0093-0415
IS - 4
ER -