OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the persistence of measles antibodies after 2 doses of measles vaccine in a setting where exposure to wild-type measles was unlikely. Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, an achievement attributed to effective implementation of a routine 2-dose vaccination policy. Some have questioned whether measles transmission could resume if immunity wanes in the absence of boosting from wild-type measles. DESIGN: Prospective, observational, volunteer cohort study. SETTING: Rural Wisconsin health maintenance organization. PARTICIPANTS: Children who received the second measles vaccine dose at kindergarten (aged 4-6 years) or middle school (aged 10-12 years) in 1994 or 1995. Serum samples were collected periodically during a 10-year period for the kindergarten group and a 5-year period for the middle school group. INTERVENTION: Second dose of measles vaccine. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Measles antibody levels were assessed by plaque-reduction neutralization: titers less than 8 mIU/mL were considered seronegative and suggestive of susceptibility to measles, and titers of 120 mIU/mL or less were considered low and suggestive of potential susceptibility. RESULTS: During the study period, no measles was reported in the study area. Voluntary attrition reduced the study population from 621 at enrollment to 364 (58.6%) by study end. Before the second dose, 3.1% (19/621) had low titers, of whom 74% (14/19) were antibody-negative, with geometric mean titers being significantly higher in kindergarteners (1559 mIU/mL) than in middle schoolers (757 mIU/mL) and rates of negativity significantly lower (1.0% [3/312] vs 3.6% [11/309]). One month after the second dose, 0.2% (1/612) had low titers and none was seronegative, with geometric mean titers being significantly higher in kindergarteners (2814 mIU/mL) than in middle schoolers (1672 mIU/mL). By study end, 4.9% (18/364) had low titers and none was seronegative, with no significant difference in geometric mean titers between kindergarteners (641 mIU/mL) and middle schoolers (737 mIU/mL) when both groups were aged 15 years. Projections suggest that the proportion of persons with low antibody levels may increase over time. CONCLUSIONS: Measles antibody persisted in all vaccinees available for follow-up 10 years after a second dose of vaccine, with no seronegative results detected. Declining titers suggest the need for vigilance in ensuring disease protection for the vaccinated population.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the persistence of measles antibodies after 2 doses of measles vaccine in a setting where exposure to wild-type measles was unlikely. Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, an achievement attributed to effective implementation of a routine 2-dose vaccination policy. Some have questioned whether measles transmission could resume if immunity wanes in the absence of boosting from wild-type measles. DESIGN: Prospective, observational, volunteer cohort study. SETTING: Rural Wisconsin health maintenance organization. PARTICIPANTS: Children who received the second measles vaccine dose at kindergarten (aged 4-6 years) or middle school (aged 10-12 years) in 1994 or 1995. Serum samples were collected periodically during a 10-year period for the kindergarten group and a 5-year period for the middle school group. INTERVENTION: Second dose of measles vaccine. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Measles antibody levels were assessed by plaque-reduction neutralization: titers less than 8 mIU/mL were considered seronegative and suggestive of susceptibility to measles, and titers of 120 mIU/mL or less were considered low and suggestive of potential susceptibility. RESULTS: During the study period, no measles was reported in the study area. Voluntary attrition reduced the study population from 621 at enrollment to 364 (58.6%) by study end. Before the second dose, 3.1% (19/621) had low titers, of whom 74% (14/19) were antibody-negative, with geometric mean titers being significantly higher in kindergarteners (1559 mIU/mL) than in middle schoolers (757 mIU/mL) and rates of negativity significantly lower (1.0% [3/312] vs 3.6% [11/309]). One month after the second dose, 0.2% (1/612) had low titers and none was seronegative, with geometric mean titers being significantly higher in kindergarteners (2814 mIU/mL) than in middle schoolers (1672 mIU/mL). By study end, 4.9% (18/364) had low titers and none was seronegative, with no significant difference in geometric mean titers between kindergarteners (641 mIU/mL) and middle schoolers (737 mIU/mL) when both groups were aged 15 years. Projections suggest that the proportion of persons with low antibody levels may increase over time. CONCLUSIONS: Measles antibody persisted in all vaccinees available for follow-up 10 years after a second dose of vaccine, with no seronegative results detected. Declining titers suggest the need for vigilance in ensuring disease protection for the vaccinated population.
Authors: T N Figueira; L M Palermo; A S Veiga; D Huey; C A Alabi; N C Santos; J C Welsch; C Mathieu; B Horvat; S Niewiesk; A Moscona; M A R B Castanho; M Porotto Journal: J Virol Date: 2016-12-16 Impact factor: 5.103
Authors: Iana H Haralambieva; Inna G Ovsyannikova; Richard B Kennedy; Krista M Goergen; Diane E Grill; Min-Hsin Chen; Lijuan Hao; Joseph Icenogle; Gregory A Poland Journal: Vaccine Date: 2019-11-12 Impact factor: 3.641
Authors: Iana H Haralambieva; Inna G Ovsyannikova; Megan O'Byrne; V Shane Pankratz; Robert M Jacobson; Gregory A Poland Journal: Vaccine Date: 2011-05-01 Impact factor: 3.641
Authors: Iana H Haralambieva; Richard B Kennedy; Inna G Ovsyannikova; Jennifer A Whitaker; Gregory A Poland Journal: Trends Mol Med Date: 2015-11-18 Impact factor: 11.951