Measles Epidemic in South India in 2024

Aims and background: Measles has made an unexpected comeback as a resurgent epidemic, with India among the worst-hit countries. The current study found that measles positive increased as a result of non-vaccination during the SARS-CoV-19 lockdown, which was a risk factor for the latest outbreak.Materials and methods: This was a laboratory-based study conducted at the Microbiological Laboratory (MBL), Tamil Nadu, India. The study comprised patients aged one month to 83 years who were admitted to the hospital between January and March 2024. The samples collected from suspected patients were tested for measles-specific RTPCR using FTD Fever & Rash kits (Fast-track Diagnostics, Luxembourg). The clinical case definition of the World Health Organization was used to categorize Measles cases. The data were examined and presented in this research.Results: There were 84 instances of measles positive for RTPCR out of 234, accounting for 35.89%. According to the study, the greatest positive rate for measles is 86.90% or higher in children aged one month to twelve years. The number of cases of measles peaked on January 24 (28.57%), February 27 (42.18%), and March 33 (38.37%). The SARS COVID-19 pandemic and its shutdown increased measles positive and non-vaccination.Conclusion: This is an excellent time to boost not only our measles immunization program, but also our entire routine vaccination program; otherwise, cases of other vaccine-preventable diseases such as mumps, rubella, and whooping cough may grow in the coming years. This is a wake-up call to India's public health authorities to take the required steps to avoid vaccine-preventable diseases.