Coverage Survey and Sero-Survey FollowingMeasles-Rubella VaccinationCampaign in Nepal

This survey results have provided anoverall holistic assessment of coveragesurvey of the MR vaccination campaigncarried out in three phases during 2012-13.The expected coverage was estimated tobe 85% based on national data (reference).The current field survey has revealed thecampaign coverage to be higher thanexpected numbers. Results also showedthat there was active participation ofhigher number of girls than boys, whichis another positive aspect of the coveragesurvey findings. The current surveyshowed that in phase I (Far West andMid West Region) and phase III(Centraland Eastern Region), immunizationcampaign were more focused in the ruralareas whereas in Phase II (Western andCentral Regions) more urban than ruralareas were targeted. The MR campaignby definition administered vaccine forboth measles and rubella, and as such,serological results reflected this by wayof observed antibodies in hosts. Further,for the first time in Nepal, the serologicalstudy was complemented by assessmentof oral anti measles IgG by way of OralFluid (OF) sampling. Results howevershowed that OF IgG level did not comparewell against that of serum IgG. In caseof Rubella, observed sero-positivity wasclose to the survey coverage. The currentsero conversion finding for Nepal showsthat the test was robust and that vaccinecoverage high, as estimated for Nepal.