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[Outbreak of rubella in Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz)]
J García Rodríguez1, U Clerig Arnau, F Palacios Vaca
1Unidad Docente de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria, Hospital del SAS Puerta del Mar, Centro de Salud Pinillo Chico, El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz.
Objective:
To find the frequency of cases of German measles and its spread according to the variables of age, gender, the position regarding vaccination and time; to identify groups at risk in line with the above variables and find out how efficacious vaccination is.
Design:
Crossover, descriptive study.
Setting:
Catchment area of the Pinillo Chico Health Centre in Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz).
Patients And Other Participants:
Between March and June, 1991, there was an outbreak of 175 cases of German measles in our catchment area. We included in the study 149 of these, for whom an epidemiological index card had been filled out. Cases were defined in line with the CDC criteria of a probable or confirmed case. The frequency of cases for the different groups were calculated and compared using the Chi squared test.
Main Measurements And Results:
More than 95% of those affected were aged between 15 months and 26 years (average age 13). There were only significant gender differences, in proportion to the general population, for the 9 to 11 age-group for girls and 12 to 16 for boys. The frequency of cases was significantly greater in males than in females in the 12 to 16 and 17 to 21 age-groups (p < 0.05); and in females than males in the 9 to 11 group (p < 0.05). The frequency of cases between those vaccinated and those not vaccinated also showed significant differences for all the age and gender groups (p < 0.05). Efficacy of vaccination was 81.51%, being over 70% in all age groups.
Conclusions:
Studying outbreaks at the Primary Care level assists the identification of susceptible groups and planning of a course of action.