Naheem Ahmed, Waseem Lehrasab, Aneeqa Waseem.
Frequency of Measles Vaccination and Reasons of not vaccinating among Children Presenting with Measles.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;11(4):206-9.

Objective: To find out the frequency of measles vaccination, number of doses administered and main reasons of not vaccinating in children presenting with measles. Setting and Duration: This study was conducted in pediatrics department SKBZ hospital Muzaffarabad from Jan 2012 to Dec 2012 Materials and Methods: In this study a total of 274 patients of measles admitted or visiting to the pediatrics department were enrolled. The diagnosis of Measles was on the basis of clinical findings. The children included in the study were from 4 months to 12 years of age of both genders. The parents of the children were asked about the immunization status of the patients, how many doses of measles vaccine were administered and no of doses 1st and 2nd dose. The presenting complaints of the children were noted and other required investigations were done. Results: The mean age was 4.033 ± 2.821 years. The majority 85 (31.5%) of the children were from age group of 3 – 6 years, followed by 68 (25.2%) patients in the age interval of 1 – 3 years. There were 140 (55.0%) male patients and 113 (45%) female patients in our sample. The commonest features with which the children presented were typical rash pattern 32 (11.7%), fever 30 (10.9%), cough 29 (10.6%) and flu 26 (9.6%) children. 83.6% patients were vaccinated against measles at least once, and 29.9% were vaccinated with a second dose as well. The main reason was found to be ignorance in majority 31% patients. The second commonest cause was fear of adverse reaction in 15% patients and difficulty in accessing to EPI center in 7.30% patients. Some parents had false religious belief about vaccination [ 5.10%] and they did not vaccinate their child. Conclusion: The majority 31.5% of the children were from age group of 3 – 6 years. There was male predominance. The commonest features with which the children presented were typical rash pattern 11.7% and fever in 10.9%. The main reason of not vaccinating was ignorance in 31% patients, fear of adverse reaction in 15% patients.

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