Measles case fatality among the under-fives: a multivariate analysis of risk factors in a rural area of Bangladesh

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship of measles case fatality among the under-fives with age, case type, complications, sex, mother's education, and household economic condition in a rural area of Bangladesh. A total of 3465 measles cases were detected during 1980 and 61 of them died of measles associated complications within 45 days of rash onset. Case type, sex, mother's education and household economic condition were found to have statistically significant impact on case fatality. Risk of death among the secondary cases was 1.87 times higher than in the primary cases, girls had 2.73 times higher risk of death than boys. Children of mothers without any formal schooling and those from the poorest households experienced 1.83 and 2.18 times higher risk of death than their counterparts whose mothers had at least one year of schooling and from economically better off households respectively