Objectives: Infants aged <8 months are ineligible for measles vaccination in China but represent a disproportionate number of cases. We examined the risk factors for measles among infants in Tianjin, China.
Study design: Case-control study.
Methods: Cases were enrolled from a surveillance system, and IgG-negative controls were sampled from registries at immunization clinics. A logistic regression model assessed for risk factors.
Results: Among 82 cases and 485 controls, exposure to a municipal hospital (OR [odds ratio]: 5.21; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-22.82) or a specialty hospital (OR: 13.22; 95% CI: 6.13-28.51) was associated with the disease, whereas visiting a township or district hospitals was not associated with increased odds of measles.
Conclusions: Hospitals were an important focal point of measles transmission for infants. Hospitals, particularly higher-level municipal and specialty hospitals, should enforce infection control programs to separate infants with highly communicable diseases to prevent transmission.
Keywords: China; Infants; Measles.
Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.