Evaluation of the measles epidemiological surveillance system in the health districts of Communes I and II of Bamako, Mali, 2014-2018

Abstract

Introduction: The Health Districts of Commune I (CI) and Commune II (CII) of Bamako frequently record episodes of measles epidemics. This study was initiated to evaluate the measles epidemiological surveillance system in these Districts. Material and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study in August 2019 on data from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2018. The CDC (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention in Atlanta) approach was used for data collection. The organization, operation of the system, completeness, acceptability, simplicity, representativeness were appreciated. Study population were : the staff involved in surveillance at the Bamako Regional Health Directorate (DRS), the Reference Health Centers (CSRéf), twenty-seven health areas and six private structures. The data were entered and analyzed on Epi-info_7.2 and Excel®2016. Results: We found 323 suspected cases of measles (CI=141, CII=182) including 61 confirmed cases (CI=26, CII=35). The 1-4 year old age group was the most represented in CI (OR=11, p=0.0001) and the 25 year old and more was the most represented in CII (OR=2.54, p=0.05). The completeness rate of weekly reports was 46% in CI and 59% in CII. The notification rate was 69% and 64% respectively. Conclusion: The system was considered simple and representative. However, there are inadequacies in the completeness of data, acceptability and in terms of qualified human resources trained. This results shows the need for training