Mapping the Prevalence of Measles among Risk Population in Zamfara State, Nigeria

Disease maps can be used to highlight populations at risk of a disease and its seasonal variability. Measles has been and is still being considered as one of the most infectious and perhaps the highest childhood mortality diseases world-wide. This paper examined the spatial risk of measles in Zamfara State, Nigeria with the objective highlighting areas of high risk and possible link with seasons and the available healthcare facilities. Measles prevalence and relative risk data of 2017 from the 14 LGAs of the state were used for the study. Relative risk rates were computed using ‘at risk’ population of ages 1-9 years as a proportion of the aggregated data. The maps were corroborated with seasons and distribution of healthcare facilities. While the raw data showed LGAs of highest risk located at the southernmost parts of the state, the reverse was the case with the relative risk rates. The later also highlighted relationships of relative risk rates with seasons and availability of healthcare facilities. It was concluded that the type of map drawn and the nature of data used could portray different virtualizations of disease pattern, and that both seasonality and availability of healthcare facilities play a role in the prevalence of measles in Zamfara State. It is recommended that, although the findings shed some light on the possible causal factors, more detailed studies should be carried out on these factors with a view to uncovering them for any informed actions to reduce the risk of the disease and its possible transmission chain, more especially with the current spate of banditry and forced migrations in the state.