| Reduced vaccination and the risk of measles and other childhood infections post-Ebola |
| Authors: |
Takahashi S, Metcalf CJ, Ferrari MJ, Moss WJ, Truelove SA, Tatem AJ, Grenfell BT, and Lessler J |
| Source: |
Science , 347(6227):1240-2. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa3438. |
| Topic(s): |
Child health
Immunization
|
| Country: |
Africa
Multiple African Countries
Guinea
Liberia
Sierra Leone
|
| Published: |
MAR 2015 |
| Abstract: |
The Ebola epidemic in West Africa has caused substantial morbidity and mortality. The outbreak has also disrupted health care services, including childhood vaccinations, creating a second public health crisis. We project that after 6 to 18 months of disruptions, a large connected cluster of children unvaccinated for measles will accumulate across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This pool of susceptibility increases the expected size of a regional measles outbreak from 127,000 to 227,000 cases after 18 months, resulting in 2000 to 16,000 additional deaths (comparable to the numbers of Ebola deaths reported thus far). There is a clear path to avoiding outbreaks of childhood vaccine-preventable diseases once the threat of Ebola begins to recede: an aggressive regional vaccination campaign aimed at age groups left unprotected because of health care disruptions. |
| Web: |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4691345/ |
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