Measles immunity and vaccination policy in Catalonia

The prevalence of antibodies against measles in a representative sample of the school population in Catalonia was established and the results compared with previous studies, The study was carried out in 1996 using blood sampl es obtained from schoolchildren aged 6-7 years, 10 11 years, 13-14 years an d 15-16 years. 1231 schoolchildren were studied, The global prevalence of a ntibodies was 96.3%, and a considerable increase was observed with respect to the prevalence in 1986 (89.4%). The level of antibodies was 94% a at 6-7 years and 10-11 years, 99.7% at 13-14 years and 98.3% at 15-16 years. Thes e data would suggest the advancement of the administration of the second do se of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine to 4-6 years instead of at 11 years. (C ) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.