Status of measles in The Gambia, 1981.

Measles registries were instituted in all rural health facilities in The Gambia during January through December 1981. House-to-house surveillance of three infected villages revealed a 7% acute case-fatality rate. Infected villages were followed up until December 1981. Finger-prick specimens of blood, complete measles history, and vaccination status of 380 children aged six months to five years were studied. Data on children from the area with the lowest coverage for measles vaccination in 1980 were collected and analyzed. Of the 60% of children who were vaccinated, 75% seroconverted, while 8% reported measles infection after immunization. The Gambia's immunization program is composed of static immunization units with outreach stations and rural health workers in immunization services. The strong faith of mothers in the maternal and child health services coupled with the commitment of the health workers in The Gambia is helping to provide important leadership in the struggle to attain global control and eradication of measles by the year 2000.