Infants and measles outbreak control

Canadian Medical Association Journal 1996; 155: 200-201

Source: De Serres G, Boulianne N, Ratnam S et al: Effectiveness of vaccination at 6 to 11 months of age during an outbreak of measles. Pediatrics 1996; 97: 232-235

During an outbreak of measles in eight Inuit communities in northern Quebec, control measures included the administration of monovalent measles vaccine to infants aged 6 to 11 months. Health care workers were able to vaccinate 56 of the 81 infants in this age group. The subsequent measles attack rate among vaccinated infants was 11%, as compared with 39% among the unvaccinated infants. In the vaccinated infants in whom measles developed, the illness occurred within 10 days of vaccination. The overall vaccine effectiveness rate was 96% when the time generally needed to obtain an immune reponse was considered. Nineteen of the 50 infants who received the vaccine and did not contract measles were assessed at 15 months of age: all had antibody titers indicative of protective immunity. The authors recommend vaccination of infants 6 to 11 months old as an appropriate measure for measles outbreak control.

| CMAJ July 15, 1996 (vol 155, no 2) | International digest |