The evaluation of vaccination against measles at nine months of age (report of an epidemic).

Sixteen measles cases were studied during an epidemic that broke out in Etimesgut district of Ankara. Eight of these children had never been vaccinated against measles while the remainder had been vaccinated at nine months of age. In the sera obtained during the course of the illness, anti-measles antibody was not detectable in six vaccinated children and in four unvaccinated children. Upon observing the siblings of the subjects, it was determined that one out of three who had not been vaccinated against measles and three out of seven who had been vaccinated at nine months of age contracted the disease within a month. However none of the siblings who had been vaccinated against measles at 15 months contracted the disease. In our cases, although vaccination at nine months of age could not prevent measles, it resulted in a milder form of the disease. It seems that measles vaccine administered to infants at around nine months of age does not prevent the occurrence of the disease in many children.