Changes of Measles Specific IgG after Active Immunization of Measles in Korean Children

Shin, Young Kyoo; Yoon, Jae Kyun; Choung, Ji Tai; Tockgo, Young Chang

Abstract

PURPOSE
Despite preventive measures, measles outbreaks ocurred in 1989, 1990 and 1994 in Korea. Especially, the proportion of immunized school aged children and adolescents was increased, and the reason was, in our opinion, primary and secondary vaccine failure after measles immunization. In this context, we attempted to evaluate the changes of measles specific IgG levels in various age groups of immunized children.
METHODS
From Jun. 1. 1994 to Mar. 31. 1995, the sera were collected from immunized children aged 1.5 to 12 years who had no history of natural measles. We measured the measles specific IgG using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA: SIATM Measles IgG Kit, SIGMA Co. St Louis, Mo).
RESULTS
The seropositivity of immunized children aged 1.5 to 12 years was 86.1% and 11 year old age group showed lowest level, 66.0%. As children were getting older, the measles antibody level decreased significantly( r=-0.2264, p<0.001 ).
CONCLUSIONS
Above results partially explain the reasons for recent measles occurrences in immunized children and suggest that it is necessary to modify the current immunization schedule of measles in Korea.