Vaccines
SYNOPSIS
CDC scientists find children given the MMR vaccine shed the measles virus for at least 2 weeks after getting the vaccine, making them vectors to spread measles.
TITLE
Detection of Measles Virus RNA in Urine Specimens from Vaccine Recipients
CITATION
Paul A. Rota, Ali S. Khan, Edison Durigon, Thomas Yuron, and William Bellini. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Vol. 33, No. 9, Sept. 1995, p. 2485–2488.
SUMMARY
“For the study, daily urine samples were obtained from either 15- month-old children or young adults following measles immunization. Overall, measles virus RNA was detected in 10 of 12 children during the 2-week sampling period. In some cases, measles virus RNA was detected as early as 1 day or as late as 14 days after vaccination. Measles virus RNA was also detected in the urine samples from all four of the young adults between 1 and 13 days after vaccination. This assay will enable continued studies of the shedding and transmission of measles virus and, it is hoped, will provide a rapid means to identify measles infection, especially in mild or asymptomatic cases.”
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SYNOPSIS
Thimerosal used in vaccines increases risks of side effects.
TITLE
Thimerosal induces toxic reaction in non-sensitized animals
CITATION
Uchida T, Naito S, Kato H, Hatano I, Harashima A, Terada Y, Ohkawa T, Chino F, Eto K. Thimerosal induces toxic reaction in non-sensitized animals. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology. 1994;104(3):296-301.
SUMMARY
A two-decades-old study in mice showed that thimerosal in vaccines may “augment” vaccine side effects in humans. Injection of a thimerosal-containing solution into mice resulted in hypersensitive reactions, including severe swelling and acute inflammation at the injection site with an hour of receiving the injection.
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SYNOPSIS
Measles transmission can be sustained in a highly vaccinated population
TITLE
Investigation of a measles outbreak in a fully vaccinated school population including serum studies before and after revaccination.
CITATION
Matson DO, Byington C, Canfield M, Albrecht P, Feigin RD. Investigation of a measles outbreak in a fully vaccinated school population including serum studies before and after revaccination. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 1993 Apr;12(4):292-9. PubMed PMID: 8483623.
SUMMARY
A measles outbreak in early 1989 among approximately 4200 students at a high school and two intermediate schools in suburban Houston, TX, was investigated to evaluate reasons for vaccine failure and to predict the efficacy of a booster dose of measles vaccine. Seventy-seven cases occurred (71 at the high school, 6 at intermediate schools; attack rate, 3.2 and 0.3%, respectively). Vaccination in the first year of life an 13 to 14 years since last vaccination were independent risk factors for being a case. Forty-three (18%) of 239 sera collected from students just before revaccination during the outbreak were negative by enzyme immunoassay; a neutralization assay confirmed these 43 lacked antibody predicting protection against measles infection. Of 43 enzyme immunoassay-negative students 24 gave another blood sample 9 to 10 months after revaccination. Revaccination appeared to reduce the portion of all students with neutralization titers predicting susceptibility to measles illness with rash from 7.9% to 3.0% and left the portion predicted to be susceptible to illness without rash unchanged (45%).
TAGS
SYNOPSIS
A computer model was created to study the effect of the measles elimination program in the United States on the number of susceptibles in the population. The simulation reveals that in the prevaccine era, approximately 10.6% of the population was susceptible to measles, most of whom were children less than 10 years of age.
TITLE
The future of measles in highly immunized populations. A modeling approach.
CITATION
Levy DL. American Journal of Epidemiology. 1984 Jul;120(1):39-48.
SUMMARY
Little is known about how an intensive measles elimination program changes the overall immune status of the population. A computer model was created to study the effect of the measles elimination program in the United States on the number of susceptibles in the population. The simulation reveals that in the prevaccine era, approximately 10.6% of the population was susceptible to measles, most of whom were children less than 10 years of age. With the institution of the measles immunization program, the proportion of susceptibles in the population fell to 3.1% from 1978 through 1981, but then began to rise by approximately 0.1% per year to reach about 10.9% in the year 2050. The susceptibles at this time were distributed evenly throughout all age groups. The model did not consider the potential effect of waning immunity. The results of this study suggest that measles elimination in the United States has been achieved by an effective immunization program aimed at young susceptibles combined with a highly, naturally immunized adult population. However, despite short-term success in eliminating the disease, long-range projections demonstrate that the proportion of susceptibles in the year 2050 may be greater than in the prevaccine era. Present vaccine technology and public health policy must be altered to deal with this eventuality.
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SYNOPSIS
The 1989 measles outbreak in the province of Quebec has been largely attributed to an incomplete vaccination coverage, despite a 99% vaccination rate.
TITLE
Major measles epidemic in the region of Quebec despite a 99% vaccine coverage
Citation
Boulianne N, De Serres G, Duval B, Joly JR, Meyer F, Déry P, Alary M, Le Hénaff D, Thériault N. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 1991 May-Jun;82(3):189-90.
Summary
The 1989 measles outbreak in the province of Quebec has been largely attributed to an incomplete vaccination coverage. In the Quebec City area (pop. 600,000) 1,363 confirmed cases of measles did occur. A case-control study conducted to evaluate risk factors for measles allowed us to estimate vaccination coverage. The vaccination coverage among cases was at least 84.5%. Vaccination coverage for the total population was 99.0%. Incomplete vaccination coverage is not a valid explanation for the Quebec City measles outbreak.
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SYNOPSIS
The report makes useful recommendations for future investigations, for the problem has yet to be solved of finding a vaccine which causes only slight reactions and provides long-lasting immunity.
TITLE
More Work on Measles Vaccine
CITATION
SUMMARY
Discussing the indications for the large-scale use of measles vaccines, the report stresses the need to consider the importance of the disease in different countries individually. It shows that there is an urgent need for effective protection against measles in developing countries where the disease generally has a high death rate. Against this must be weighed the characteristics and properties of the available vaccines-for example, safety, efficacy, acceptability, availability, cost, and ease of administration. Unfortunately none of the vaccines at present available is completely satisfactory. The further-attenuated vaccines are effective and relatively easy to administer, though great care is necessary to avoid contamination of the syringe with preservatives, detergents, alcohols, or other lipid solvents, since these rapidly inactivate the virus. These vaccines are expensive and not yet available in large quantities, though these objections may be overcome in the future, but the main drawback to their mass use remains-namely, the severity of the reaction in a few of the children vaccinated. The report makes useful recommendations for future investigations, for the problem has yet to be solved of finding a vaccine which causes only slight reactions and provides long-lasting immunity. Meanwhile further trials of the Beckenham 20 vaccine are proceeding, this time in Great Britain.
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SYNOPSIS
Research supports a relationship between immunizations and onset of paralytic poliomyelitis.
TITLE
The relation of prophylactic inoculations to the onset of poliomyelitis: a study of 620 cases in the victorian epidemic of poliomyelitis in 1949.
CITATION
McCloskey, BP. Medical Journal of Australia, 1951 Apr 28;1(17):613-8.
SUMMARY
“Evidence is presented that in the current epidemic of poliomyelitis in Victoria
there has been a relation, in a number of cases, between an injection of an
immunising agent and the subsequent development of paralytic poliomyelitis.”