Measles epidemics in Niger fluctuate wildly from one season to another but the timing of the outbreaks always coincides with the end of the annual rainy season, according to an international team of researchers.

The erratic nature of the outbreaks, they add, underlies the need for greater surveillance to detect potential epidemics and a quicker vaccination response to control the disease.

The lead author of the study is Matthew Ferrari, research associate at Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics.

Citation: Ferrari, M. J., Grais, R. F., Bharti, N., et al. (2008). The dynamics of measles in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature, 451(7179), 679-684. (Available online to the Penn State community)