Evaluation of Measles Outbreak Response Activities and Surveillance System Performance in Nunukumba District, East Wollega Zone of Oromia Region, Ethiopia, June 2020

Background: Measles is one of the world’s most contagious viral diseases that have the potential to be life-threatening. In Ethiopia, measles is among the most common cause for morbidity and mortality in children. Major outbreaks with large attack rates resulting in as high as 15-20% case fatality rates have been reported in this country. There is a paucity of information on measles outbreak response activities and surveillance system performance in Eats Wollega Zone in general and NunuKumba district in particular, Ethiopia. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was employed from June 01-05, 2020 at NunuKumba district of East Wollega Zone. The data was collected by three senior technical experts using semi-structured questionnaires, and a secondary data was taken from the line list of cases. Purposive sampling technique was used. Quantitative data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2010 while the qualitative data was themed; analyzed and then triangulated with quantitative result. The result was displayed by graphs, tables and Epi-curve. Results: The overall Attack rate and Case Fatality Rate were 1.05% and 0.41% respectively. The most affected age group was under five year’s children 552(56.55%). The Epicurve indicated the propagation of the outbreak and covered the majority (73%) of Kebeles in the district. The outbreak reached climax at middle of January and declined by the middle of February, 2020. Conclusion: The AR and CFR of this outbreak were higher than nationally expected target. Age group of 1-4years had higher attack rate. The probable contributing factors for this outbreak were poor health seeking behaviour (poor community awareness and engagement), poor surveillance system, poor PHEM report completeness, lack of operational surveillance guidelines and protocols, and dalliances of lab specimen result written feedback written recommended time period. Therefore, training of human power, and surveillance system should get due attention.