Foci of nosocomial measles in Russia in the years 2011–2019

Objective. To identify the main causes of nosocomial measles outbreaks and factors that caused stable secondary transmission of this infection in healthcare institutions. Materials and methods. We analyzed 336 nosocomial measles outbreaks according to the data from 1521 ‘Reports of epidemiological investigation of measles cases…’ registered between 2011 and 2019. We performed operational and retrospective epidemiological analysis, as well as evaluation and descriptive analysis. Results. Our retrospective analysis demonstrated that nosocomial measles outbreaks were registered every year with the number of reported cases ranging from 7 (in 2011) to 105 (in 2018). Most frequently, outbreaks were registered in infectious disease hospitals (32%) and departments for infectious diseases in multidisciplinary hospitals among patients with acute respiratory viral infections (28.1%). Less frequently, measles was diagnosed among patients treated in other hospital departments, dispensaries (18.6%), admission departments (11.8%), and polyclinics (9.5%). The factors that contributed to the emergence of nosocomial measles outbreaks included no alertness for measles among doctors and poor epidemic prevention and control in hospitals. Conclusion. To reduce the incidence of nosocomial measles, it is necessary to ensure that patients admitted to hospitals (non-emergency hospitalization) and caregivers have information about measles vaccinations. It is also important to increase the vaccination coverage among healthcare professionals and promote compliance with sanitary and epidemiological control measures in hospitals. © 2021, Dynasty Publishing House. All rights reserved.