Booster vaccination with further live attenuated measles vaccine
J. W. Bass, S. B. Halstead, G. W. Fischer, J. K. Podgore, W. R. Pearl, M. Schydlower, R. A. Wiebe and F. M. Ching
Revaccination with live attenuated measles vaccine was evaluated in a large
group of children to determine (1) if protective antibody to measles
infection could be augmented and (2) after what interval will the
revaccination yield optimal results. The rate of decline in measles
hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) antibody was observed to be directly
related to the time interval since the previous vaccination, and
individuals with declining titers became increasingly responsive to
revaccination with a maximal response approximately four to six years after
previous vaccination. Six-month follow-up studies demonstrated sustained
elevations in measles HI antibody titers. Measles-neutralizing antibody
showed less tendency to sustain a titer increase with revaccination. The
observations suggest that revaccination with live, further attenuated
measles vaccine is safe and may augment immunity.
