Evaluation of the measles surveillance system in the prefecture of hay hassani, kingdom of morocco, march 2024 – august 2025
1
African Centres of Deasease Control and Prevention, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2
Hay Hassani Health Prefecture, Casablanca, Morocco
3
Pasteur Institute of Morocco, Casablanca, Morocco
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A3817
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Morocco, committed to measles elimination, has been experiencing an outbreak since September 2023, the last major outbreak having occurred ten years earlier. In the prefecture of Hay Hassani, which has been affected since epidemiological week 11 of 2024,517 cases and 4 deaths were reported. This study aimed to evaluate the measles surveillance system in this area to identify gaps and propose strategies to strengthen measles prevention and control.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Hay Hassani from March 2024 to August 2025, following the CDC Atlanta (2001) guidelines for surveillance system evaluation. The assessment covered usefulness and seven attributes: simplicity, acceptability, flexibility, stability, data quality, representativeness, and timeliness. Qualitative attributes were measured through interviews with 32 healthcare workers, and quantitative attributes were analyzed using surveillance data. Performance scores were calculated in Excel using a binary rating system (assigned a score of 1 when the evaluated criterion was satisfactorily met, and 0 when it was not met) with a performance threshold of 80%. Proportions were calculated for each of the evaluated criteria to determine the performance score of each attribute.
RESULTS:
During the study period, 517 measles cases and 4 deaths were reported; 45% were under 5 years, 37.3% vaccinated, 22.8% unvaccinated, and 39.9% with unknown vaccination status. Performance varied across attributes: usefulness (66.7%), simplicity (73.6%), acceptability (89.2%), flexibility (84.2%), stability (84.7%), data quality (62.2%), timeliness (89.2%), and representativeness (53%).
CONCLUSIONS:
Vaccination coverage needs to be strengthened. The surveillance system, although acceptable, flexible, stable, and rapid, would gain in usefulness through systematic data analysis and regular field investigations. Integrating the private sector would improve representativeness, while data quality requires staff training and regular supervision. Finally, raising public awareness of vaccination and adopting electronic surveillance would help simplify the system to support measles elimination.
Morocco, committed to measles elimination, has been experiencing an outbreak since September 2023, the last major outbreak having occurred ten years earlier. In the prefecture of Hay Hassani, which has been affected since epidemiological week 11 of 2024,517 cases and 4 deaths were reported. This study aimed to evaluate the measles surveillance system in this area to identify gaps and propose strategies to strengthen measles prevention and control.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Hay Hassani from March 2024 to August 2025, following the CDC Atlanta (2001) guidelines for surveillance system evaluation. The assessment covered usefulness and seven attributes: simplicity, acceptability, flexibility, stability, data quality, representativeness, and timeliness. Qualitative attributes were measured through interviews with 32 healthcare workers, and quantitative attributes were analyzed using surveillance data. Performance scores were calculated in Excel using a binary rating system (assigned a score of 1 when the evaluated criterion was satisfactorily met, and 0 when it was not met) with a performance threshold of 80%. Proportions were calculated for each of the evaluated criteria to determine the performance score of each attribute.
RESULTS:
During the study period, 517 measles cases and 4 deaths were reported; 45% were under 5 years, 37.3% vaccinated, 22.8% unvaccinated, and 39.9% with unknown vaccination status. Performance varied across attributes: usefulness (66.7%), simplicity (73.6%), acceptability (89.2%), flexibility (84.2%), stability (84.7%), data quality (62.2%), timeliness (89.2%), and representativeness (53%).
CONCLUSIONS:
Vaccination coverage needs to be strengthened. The surveillance system, although acceptable, flexible, stable, and rapid, would gain in usefulness through systematic data analysis and regular field investigations. Integrating the private sector would improve representativeness, while data quality requires staff training and regular supervision. Finally, raising public awareness of vaccination and adopting electronic surveillance would help simplify the system to support measles elimination.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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