Medical importance of measles in U.A.R. (Egypt)

Summary and conclusions

Measles in Egypt, as in most parts of the world, is an endemic disease with biennial epidemic waves, which affects mainly children under 3 years of age. The epidemic waves appear mainly at the end of winter and in the spring. From the statistical data available, there is a high ease fatality rate, which is mainly due to the marked under reporting of measles cases, and at the same time a nearly full reporting on the mortality cases due to measles. The real case fatality rate does not exceed 1/10 of this apparent high case fatality rate. In spite of this fact, measles still ranks among the most important causes of childhood morbidity and mortality. As a cause of death among all acute communicable diseases, measles accounted for 17.4 to 23.5% of the deaths in the years 1958 to 1961.

Certainly the rapid extension of all medical services and Child Welfare Centers all over Egypt has caused a marked drop in the case fatality rate in the last few years, yet a potent effective vaccine against measles is needed to reduce mortality rates in children to a minimum level.