Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in papua new guinean children: the cost of continuing inadequate measles vaccine coverage.

• Published in: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Laurens Manning, Moses Laman, Henry Edoni, Ivo Mueller, Harin A Karunajeewa, David Smith, Ilomo Hwaiwhanje, Peter M Siba, Timothy M E Davis
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000932; https://doaj.org/article/a1195e7c98c8429a9ca66e6531e440da

Introduction subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a late, rare and usually fatal complication of measles infection. Although a very high incidence of SSPE in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was first recognized 20 years ago, estimated measles vaccine coverage has remained at ≤ 70% since and a large measles epidemic occurred in 2002. We report a series of 22 SSPE cases presenting between November 2007 and July 2009 in Madang Province, PNG, including localized clusters with the highest ever reported annual incidence. Methodology/principal findings as part of a prospective observational study of severe childhood illness at Modilon Hospital, the provincial referral center, children presenting with evidence of meningo-encephalitis were assessed in detail including lumbar puncture in most cases. A diagnosis of SSPE was based on clinical features and presence of measles-specific IgG in cerebrospinal fluid and/or plasma. The estimated annual SSPE incidence in Madang province was 54/million population aged <20 years, but four sub-districts had an incidence >100/million/year. The distribution of year of birth of the 22 children with SSPE closely matched the reported annual measles incidence in PNG, including a peak in 2002. Conclusions/significance SSPE follows measles infections in very young PNG children. Because PNG children have known low seroconversion rates to the first measles vaccine given at 6 months of age, efforts such as supplementary measles immunisation programs should continue in order to reduce the pool of non-immune people surrounding the youngest and most vulnerable members of PNG communities.