OBJECTIVETo understand the epidemiological characteristics of measles in Henan province during 2004-2006 and to evaluate the quality of measles special report system (MSS) in order to provide evidence for strategies and measures development for measles prevention and control.

METHODSData were collected from the National Notifiable Disease Report System (NNDRS) and MSS on epidemiological characteristics of measles in Henan province during 2004-2006.

RESULTSThe sensitivity of MSS was lower than that of NNDRS in Henan province during 2004-2006. The incidence of measles appeared to be 2.54/100 000 in 2004 increased to 8/100 000 during 2005-2006. The incidence of measles was higher in the central part of the province during the recent years with cases concentrated in March to May every year. The percentage of cases from age groups < 8 months and 8 months to 1 year olds increased yearly. All the cases with no or unclear vaccination record took up 77.13%, with 18.23% of the measles cases fell into the floating population.

CONCLUSIONImproving the 2 doses and timely coverage rate of the first dose of measles vaccine strategy was essential for measles control and prevention. In order to improve the quality of measles surveillance program, the advantage of MSS and NNDRS should be integrated.