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Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, December 2008, p. 1845-1850, Vol. 15, No. 12
1071-412X/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CVI.00229-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Kinetics of Decline of Maternal Measles Virus-Neutralizing Antibodies in Sera of Infants in France in 2006{triangledown}

Arnaud Gagneur,1,2* Didier Pinquier,3 Marie Aubert,4 Laurent Balu,5 Olivier Brissaud,6 Loïc De Pontual,5 Christèle Gras Le Guen,7 Isabelle Hau-Rainsard,8 Olivier Mory,9 Georges Picherot,7 Jean-Louis Stephan,9 Bernard Cohen,10 Evelyne Caulin,4 Benoît Soubeyrand,4 and Philippe Reinert8

CHU Brest, Brest, France,1 Département de Pédiatrie, CHUS Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada,2 Hôpital Charles Nicolle, Pôle Mère-Femme-Enfant, CHU Rouen, Rouen, France,3 Sanofi Pasteur MSD, Lyon, France,4 Hôpital Jean Verdier, Bondy, France,5 CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France,6 Hôpital Mère-Enfant et Centre d'Investigation Clinique Pédiatrique, CHU Nantes, Nantes, France,7 CHI Créteil, Créteil, France,8 CHU Nord, Saint-Etienne, France,9 Health Protection Agency, London, United Kingdom,10

Received 20 June 2008/ Returned for modification 15 July 2008/ Accepted 11 September 2008

The optimal age for measles vaccination is an important health issue, since maternal antibodies may neutralize the vaccine antigen before a specific immune response develops, while delaying vaccination may increase the risk of complicated diseases in infants. However, measles vaccination impacts the duration of protection afforded by transplacental transfer of maternal antibodies: vaccination-induced maternal antibodies disappear faster than disease-induced antibodies. In order to maintain protection against measles in infants, it is important to monitor the dynamics of this phenomenon in vaccinated populations. To assess the current situation in France, a multicenter, prospective seroepidemiological study was conducted in seven French hospitals between October 2005 and January 2007. Maternal measles antibody concentrations from 348 infants 0 to 15 months old were measured using the plaque reduction neutralization assay. Geometric mean concentrations and the percentage of infants with maternal measles antibody concentrations above the protection threshold (≥120 mIU/ml) were assessed according to age. Results show that after more than 20 years of routine measles vaccination in France, maternal measles-neutralizing antibodies decrease dramatically in French infants by 6 months of age, from 1,740 mIU/ml for infants 0 to 1 month old to 223 mIU/ml for infants 5 to 6 months old, and that 90% of infants are not protected against measles after 6 months of age. Infant protection against measles could be optimized both by increasing herd immunity through an increased vaccine coverage and by lowering the age of routine vaccination from 12 to 9 months.

* Corresponding author. Present address: Département de Pédiatrie, Unité de Néonatalogie, CHUS Fleurimont 3001, 12ème Avenue Nord, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada. Phone: (819) 346-1110. Fax: (819) 564-5398. E-mail: arnaud.gagneur{at}usherbrooke.ca

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 24 September 2008.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, December 2008, p. 1845-1850, Vol. 15, No. 12
1071-412X/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CVI.00229-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Manikkavasagan, G, Ramsay, M (2009). Protecting infants against measles in England and Wales: a review. Arch. Dis. Child. 94: 681-685 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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