Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfPro8): Abstract 01 | Published: 01 Oct 2026
Fiel Agostinho Correia1,&, Ana Damião1, Rodrigues Aussene2, Madalena Zacarias1, Américo Almirante Mário Barata1
1National Institute of Health, Nampula Provincial Delegation, Nampula, Mozambique; 2Memba District Health, Women and Social Action Services (Serviço Distrital de Saúde, Mulher e Acção Social de Memba), Chipene Health Centre, Memba, Nampula, Mozambique
&Corresponding author: Fiel Correia, National Institute of Health (Instituto Nacional de Saúde), Nampula Provincial Delegation, Nampula, Mozambique, Email: fiel.correia@gmail.com, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6640-8462
Received: 28 Mar 2026, Accepted: 02 Sep 2026, Published: 01 Oct 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Measles, Child mortality, Vaccination, Nampula, Mozambique
©Fiel Agostinho Correia et al, Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Fiel Agostinho Correia et al., Outbreak investigation of suspected measles deaths in Chipene Community, Memba District, Nampula Province, Mozambique, August 2025. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfPro8):01. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO8-0001
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease and remains a major cause of child mortality in low-income countries. In July 2025, a measles outbreak was identified in Chipene Administrative Post, Memba District, Nampula Province, with reports of multiple community deaths. We investigated the causes of death and associated factors.
We conducted an analytical mixed-methods study. The qualitative component used verbal and social autopsies with relatives of the deceased. The quantitative component used a 1:2 case-control design, with 12 deaths as cases and 24 survivors as controls. Variables analysed included age, sex, vaccination status, vitamin A supplementation, nutritional status and comorbidities. Data were analysed in STATA 17, and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated.
Between July and August 2025, 64 suspected measles deaths were reported in eight communities, 72% (46/64) of them in children under five years. Of 12 verbal autopsies, 9 (75%) attributed the death to measles, followed by malaria (2/12; 17%) and diarrhoea (1/12; 8%). Immunisation gaps were common: 7/12 (58%) of the deceased were unvaccinated and 9/12 (75%) had not received vitamin A supplementation. The most frequent comorbidities were malnutrition (26%) and malaria (22%). Children with comorbidities had ten times higher odds of death (AOR=10; 95% CI: 1.8–57), and those under one year had six times higher odds (AOR=6; 95% CI: 1.3–27). Seeking hospital treatment was associated with survival (AOR=0.2; 95% CI: 0.04–0.9).
Deaths were strongly associated with measles, low vaccination coverage and lack of vitamin A supplementation. Strengthening immunisation, ensuring vitamin A supplementation, intensifying surveillance and community mobilisation are urgent actions to prevent avoidable deaths in future outbreaks.
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