Measles antibodies in cord blood in Portugal: Possible consequences for the recommended age of vaccination

Gonçalves, Guilherme; Nunes, Carla; Mesquita, João Rodrigo; Nascimento, Maria São José; Frade, João

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/13068

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Authors

Gonçalves, Guilherme

Nunes, Carla

Mesquita, João Rodrigo

Nascimento, Maria São José

Frade, João

Abstract(s)

The optimum age to give the first dose of measles vaccine must balance the risks of disease and vaccinefailure. Both are influenced by the levels of transplacentally acquired maternal antibodies. This study wasconducted in the Obstetric service of Portuguese hospital, in 2012–2013. Mothers were recruited afterinformed consent. Measles IgG was measured in 206 cord sera, using a commercial immunoassay. Geo-metric mean concentrations (and 95% CI) were 1849 mIU/ml (1196–2857) and 790 mIU/ml (618–1008)in cord sera of newborns from unvaccinated and vaccinated mothers respectively. Maternal age and vac-cination status were both associated with the concentration in cord sera, but maternal age was the majorpredictor. The likely explanation is the same already mentioned in other studies: as a vaccination pro-gram progresses, vaccination coverage increases as measles incidence decreases. That results newbornsfrom younger vaccinated mothers having less measles antibodies while the older mothers are more likelyto have been infected with the wild virus. As the proportion of vaccinated mothers increase, developedcountries tend to anticipate the recommended age of the first dose to 12 months of age. Models usinghypothetical measles antibody decay rates in infancy were explored. Anticipating the first dose of MMR1in Portugal to the age of 12 months might have not been the best decision but results were not conclusive,and arguments supporting or not the anticipation were discussed.

Keywords

Antibodies Cord blood Measles Recommended age Vaccination

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/13068

Citation

Guilherme Gonçalves, Carla Nunes, João Rodrigo Mesquita, Maria São José Nascimento, João Frade, Measles antibodies in cord blood in Portugal: Possible consequences for the recommended age of vaccination, Vaccine, Volume 34, Issue 24, 2016, Pages 2750-2757, ISSN 0264-410X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.04.007.