Increased risk of measles mortality for children with siblings among the Fula Bande, Senegal.

In a survey of the Fula Bande, a rural population of Senegal, deaths and causes of death have been registered during an 8-year period. Measles is responsible for 31% of deaths of children 6 months to 9 years old. Under the mortality conditions of the period studied, a 6-month-old child has a 15% chance of dying from measles at some point. Children with siblings have a higher mortality risk during measles epidemics than children without siblings. Since the risk of infection seems equal in these two groups, the difference is probably due to more severe infection among multiple cases with close contact. In one epidemic where measles cases were registered, case-fatality rates were indeed higher in compounds with several measles cases.