Rubella Antibody Persistence After Immunization
Sixteen-Year Follow-up in the Hawaiian Islands
- Susan Y. Chu, PhD;
- Roger H. Bernier, PhD;
- John A. Stewart, MD;
- Kenneth L. Herrmann, MD;
- Joel R. Greenspan, MD;
- Alden K. Henderson, MS;
- Arthur P. Liang, MD
- From the Epidemiology Branch (Dr Chu and Mr Henderson) and Communicable Disease Division (Dr Liang), Hawaii State Department of Health, Honolulu; Divisions of Reproductive Health (Dr Chu), Immunization (Dr Bernier), Viral Diseases (Drs Stewart and Herrmann), and Field Services (Epidemiology Program Office) (Dr Greenspan), Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta.
Abstract
A comparative field trial of three rubella virus vaccines (Cendehill, HPV-77 DE-5, and HPV-77 DK-12) was initiated in 1969 on the islands of Kauai and Hawaii in the state of Hawaii. In 1985, follow-up was reinitiated to assess the long-term durability of vaccine-induced immunity. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of serum specimens from 1290 participants demonstrated seropositive rates of 92.4% and 96.4% at screening levels of 10 (protective level) and 7 (lowest detectable level) IU/mL, respectively. The seropositive rates were not related to reinfection or reimmunizations. These findings indicate that vaccine-induced rubella antibodies are detectable in almost all persons up to 16 years after successful vaccination.
(JAMA 1988;259:3133-3136)
Footnotes
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