Av. Kaninda et al., MEASLES-VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS IN STANDARD AND EARLY IMMUNIZATION STRATEGIES, NIGER, 1995, The Pediatric infectious disease journal, 17(11), 1998, pp. 1034-1039
Background. An Expanded Programme on Immunization was started in late
1987 in Niger, including vaccination against measles with one dose of
standard titer Schwarz vaccine given to infants after 9 months of age,
During epidemics an early two dose strategy was implemented (one dose
between 6 and 8 months and one dose after 9 months). From January 1,
1995, until May 7, 1995, 13 892 measles cases were reported in Niamey,
Niger. Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a crowd
ed area of Niamey at the end of the outbreak to assess the effectivene
ss of measles vaccine in standard (after 9 months) and early (before 9
months) immunization strategies under field conditions. Results, High
est measles incidence rates were observed among children <1 year of ag
e. Vaccine effectiveness estimates increased with age at vaccination f
rom 78% with a single dose administered at 6 months of age to 95% at 9
months. Vaccine effectiveness with the early two dose strategy was 93
%. Conclusions. Immunization with a single dose of standard titer Schw
arz vaccine before 9 months of age provided higher clinical protection
than expected from seropositivity studies. The early two dose strateg
y is justified in contexts where measles incidence is high before 9 mo
nths of age. Our results raise the issue of lowering the recommended a
ge for measles vaccination in developing countries.