Assessment of the epidemiological situation of measles incidence in the Aktobe region of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Introduction. Measles continues to be one of the major public health problems, despite the existing effective and safe vaccines. The purpose of the study is to analyze the long-term dynamics of the epidemic process of measles in Kazakhstan and Aktobe region in 2004-2023. Materials and methods. Statistical data on measles incidence rates from the websites of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MOH RK), the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control (SEC) of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and statistical reports of the SEC Department for the Aktobe region. The design of the study is descriptive and retrospective. The data obtained were processed using statistical programs Excel and Statistica 10.0. Results: in the Republic of Kazakhstan, from 2004 to 2023, there was an increase in morbidity in 2005. The period of epidemiological well-being for measles was the time period from 2006 to 2014, when the incidence rate fluctuated between 0.7 and 1.0. In 2015, the indicator was 13.5, followed by a decrease in case registration by 0.7% in 2016. Since 2019, there has been a sharp increase in morbidity rates by 24 times (in 2019 – 72.9 (per 100 thousand population), in 2018 -3.2. 0 significant increase in morbidity: 29,648 confirmed cases were registered in the country, among them children under 14 years old accounted for 80%, in the Aktobe region – 2,179 and 79%, respectively, urban residents were sick 2-3 times, and in 2015 even 20 times more often than rural ones. The disease was mainly registered among unvaccinated children (58.3%) due to the failure to reach the vaccination age – 47.3%, medical withdrawals – 30.4% and refusals – 22.3%. Conclusions: the increase in the incidence of measles is due to factors such as uneven vaccination coverage in the whole country, a low level of public responsibility, increased incidence of measles in neighboring countries and a high level of population migration.