Live attenuated rubella vaccine (Cendehill strain) in school children.

The purpose of this study was to further determine the efficacy and safety in school children of the Cendehill strain of live attenuated rubella vaccine. Parental permission was requested for 255 children in Grades I, II and VI, attending two adjacent schools, to have blood taken for rubella hemagglutination-inhibition studies at the beginning and end of the study, and for each child seronegative on initial testing to participate as a vaccinee or a control. Vaccinees received either 0.5 ml. (full recommended dose) or 0.25 ml. of rubella virus vaccine, live attenuated, Cendehill strain (Smith Kline & French).Eighty-one per cent of the parents consented to have their child take part. Seventy-nine per cent of Grade I and II pupils and 41% of Grade VI pupils were found to be susceptible to rubella at the time of the initial test (HI titres [unk] 8). Eighty children received rubella vaccine and 98.7% showed at least a four-fold rise in antibody titre. One child who received 0.25 ml. showed only a two-fold rise. Clinical reactions to the vaccine were absent or minimal. Thirty-eight controls remained serologically negative during the study.The good response to half-doses of Cendehill vaccine is not significant because there were >3000 TCID(50) in a full dose (three times the dose recommended). This information was unknown by the investigators until the termination of the study.