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  1. Case Definitions/

Open Syndrome Measles

Authors: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Location: India

Purpose #

Case definition for suspected measles in India

The definition #

National guidelines for measles surveillance are based on the WHO/-AFRO Measles and Rubella Surveillance guide- line, and define a suspected measles case as any person with a generalized maculopapular rash and fever plus one or more of the following: 1) cough, 2) coryza), or 3) conjunctivitis OR any person in whom a clinician suspects measles.

Machine-readable definition #

The definition is available in JSON format following the Open Syndrome v1.0 specification:

{
   "category": "suspected",
   "definition_type": "case_definition",
   "description": "Case definition for suspected measles in India",
   "human_readable_definition": "National guidelines for measles surveillance are based on\nthe WHO/-AFRO Measles and Rubella Surveillance guide-\nline, and define a suspected measles case as any person\nwith a generalized maculopapular rash and fever plus one or\nmore of the following: 1) cough, 2) coryza), or 3) conjunctivitis OR any person in whom a clinician suspects measles.",
   "inclusion_criteria": [
     {
       "logical_operator": "OR",
       "type": "criterion",
       "values": [
         {
           "logical_operator": "AND",
           "name": "Fever with rash",
           "type": "criterion",
           "values": [
             {
               "name": "Fever",
               "type": "symptom"
             },
             {
               "description": "non-vesicular",
               "name": "Maculopapular rash",
               "type": "symptom"
             }
           ]
         },
         {
           "description": "Any person in whom a health worker or clinician suspects measles infection",
           "name": "Clinical suspicion of measles",
           "type": "professional_judgment"
         }
       ]
     }
   ],
   "keywords": [
     "Measles",
     "Asia"
   ],
   "language": "English",
   "location": "India",
   "open_syndrome_version": "1.0.0",
   "organization": "Ministry of Health and Family Welfare",
   "published_at": "2025-01-29T12:00:00Z",
   "published_by": [
     "Open Syndrome Initiative"
   ],
   "published_in": "https://opensyndrome.org",
   "references": [
     {
       "citation": "Guidelines for Measles Surveillance - India",
       "url": "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qX0lxKjFe_qlSSnqP5pvW2gOrTNPvdrS/view"
     }
   ],
   "scope": "specific",
   "status": "draft",
   "target_public_health_threats": [
     "Measles"
   ],
   "title": "Open Syndrome Measles",
   "version": "1.0.0"
 }

Using the Definition #

Healthcare organizations can implement this definition through:

  • Direct integration with surveillance systems
  • API endpoints for real-time validation
  • Manual case verification processes

Next Steps #

We encourage:

  • Clinical feedback on the definition criteria
  • Technical feedback on the implementation format
  • Suggestions for additional symptoms or signs
  • Reports of implementation experiences

Get Involved #

We welcome contributions and feedback from the community.