Epidemiology of Laboratory Confirmed Measles and Rubella Outbreaks in Rajasthan

Introduction: Measles continues to be a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in India. The Measles & Rubella Initiative was launched in 2001 as a global partnership program to strengthen surveillance for measles elimination. Objective: To determine the proportion of lab confirmed outbreaks by IgM ELISA and to describe the epidemiology of Measles and Rubella outbreak in Rajasthan. Material and method: this observational study was conducted at WHO Sub National Measles and rubella laboratory at a tertiary centre in Rajasthan. Samples from 112 suspected measles out- breaks from April 2015 to August 2016 were tested for measles and rubella IgM antibodies using WHO approved ELISA kits. Results: On lab confirmation, only 60% were found to be measles outbreak, 17% were Rubella outbreak and 18% were mixed out- break. 5% outbreaks were neither measles nor Rubella. Most cases were seen in dry months of February and April. Measles cases were found in relatively younger age as compared to Rubella. Most outbreaks were reported from few selected districts. Conclusion: Though most outbreaks are due to measles, Rubella alone or mixed outbreak are also common in Rajasthan, hence lab diagnosis is key for both Measles and Rubella is essential specially when targeting elimination and justifies inclusion of Rubella vac- cine in National schedule.