Trend of measles-rubella vaccination coverage and impact on measles epidemiology in the Savannah Region, Ghana; 2018–2022: A secondary data analysis
Vaccine·
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.02.024
- PMID
- 38365480
- PMCID
- PMC11080765
- OpenAlex
- W4391887114
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings suggest that declining vaccination coverage, likely worsened by COVID-19 pandemic impacts on pre-existing immunization program weaknesses, contributed to reduced population immunity and the 2022 measles outbreak. The authors recommend catch-up vaccination for missed children, restoration of pre-pandemic coverage levels, and strengthened immunization programs aligned with the Immunization Agenda 2030.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examined trends in measles-rubella vaccination coverage and measles case incidence in Ghana's Savannah Region from 2018 to 2022, aiming to identify gaps and propose actions to prevent future vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks.
Study design
Secondary data analysis of measles surveillance and measles-rubella vaccination records extracted from the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS) and analyzed in Microsoft Excel. The analysis calculated coverage for first and second vaccine doses, dropout rates, and measles incidence per 100,000 population.
Population and setting
The study covered the Savannah Region of Ghana and its constituent districts over the period 2018–2022.
Main findings
Coverage for both MR1 and MR2 doses peaked in 2019 and declined sequentially to the lowest levels in 2022, with high dropout rates observed across all districts throughout the study period. Confirmed measles incidence rose sharply from less than 1 per 1,000,000 in 2018–2021 to 94 per 1,000,000 in 2022. A moderate to fairly strong negative correlation was observed between vaccination coverage and measles case incidence.
Public-health relevance
The findings suggest that declining vaccination coverage, likely worsened by COVID-19 pandemic impacts on pre-existing immunization program weaknesses, contributed to reduced population immunity and the 2022 measles outbreak. The authors recommend catch-up vaccination for missed children, restoration of pre-pandemic coverage levels, and strengthened immunization programs aligned with the Immunization Agenda 2030.
Important limitations
This summary relies on the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. Full assessment of study limitations, including data quality, potential confounders, generalizability, and analytical constraints, requires access to the complete published paper.
GIDS interpretation
This article is discoverable through classifier links for measles, rubella, and COVID-19 diseases, Ghana as the country, and topics including outbreak investigation, surveillance, and vaccination. These links facilitate retrieval in literature systems but do not establish a connection to any active surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 16 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.