[Rubella vaccine coverage and seroprotection in 11-year-old children in the Indre-et-Loire department].

To determine the current rates of vaccination and seroprotection against rubella of French preadolescents, a survey was conducted among children in their first year of junior schools of the department of Indre-et-Loire (prefecture: Tours). The rate of vaccination against rubella during infancy or childhood was 58.8% for the girls and 9.4% for the boys, as compared with 99.5% for both sexes for the vaccination against diphteria, tetanus and poliomyelitis. An effective seroprotection against rubella was found more frequently in girls than in boys (90.4% vs 78%), and was also more frequent among vaccinated than non vaccinated preadolescents (98% vs 77%). From these data the authors recommend that a stronger policy of vaccination against rubella should be be adopted, ie. order to obtain the eradication of rubella in France.