Uptake of Second Dose of Measles-Containing Vaccine among Children in Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

Measles is a major cause of death and complications among young children worldwide despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. Per annum over 158,000 cases of measles mortality are reported globally, especially in Africa and Asia. In Kenya, 59 per a million measles incidence were reported in 2011. Approximately 80.1 % of the children aged less than 5 years receive a first dose of measles-containing vaccine in Kakamega County. In 2013 a second dose of measles-containing vaccine was introduced in the routine immunization system. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine the coverage of second dose of measles-containing vaccine among children in Kakamega County. Thirty clusters were selected using probability proportional to size with replacement, 19 households were surveyed per cluster and data of the youngest child aged between 24-35 months collected. Among the 571 children surveyed; the coverage of second dose of measles-containing vaccine was 102 (17.9%) (95%CI = 14.9% to 21.3%).The caretaker’s awareness of the second dose of measles-containing vaccine, time taken to the nearest health facility, uptake of Pentavalent 3 and uptake of at least two doses of Vitamin A was significantly associated with the uptake of the second dose of measles-containing vaccine, p-value of 0.0000, 0.0010, 0.0281 and 0.0000respectively. The second dose of measles-containing vaccine coverage in Kakamega is very low, strategies focusing on demand creation, conducting outreach services in hard-toreach areas and ensuring that there are no missed opportunities should be put in place to increase utilization of the second dose of measles-containing vaccine across the County.