Passive immunity of premature infants against measles during early infancy

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of transferred measles antibodies and seronegativity rates during early infancy in premature newborns whose mothers had infection‐induced immunity. The premature group was composed of 22 and 35 newborns of gestational ages ≤ 32 wk and >32 wk, respectively, and the control group consisted of 28 term newborns. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies to measles virus. Mean cord blood relative values were significantly lower in both premature groups, ≤ 32 wk (p < 0.0001) and >32 wk (p < 0.001), when compared with term infants. No seronegative infant was found in the premature group at 2 mo of age. At 4 mo, the seronegativity rate was 27% for premature infants <32 wk and 35% for those >32 wk. At 6 mo, seronegativity increased to 86% and 74% for premature infants born at gestational ages ≤ 32 wk and >32 wk, respectively. Forty‐six percent of the term infants became seronegative at that age. The differences between term infants and those in the two premature groups were statistically significant (p<0.05 and p<0.005). Premature infants, regardless of their prematurity degree, were thought to be more susceptible to measles infection than term ones at the age of 6 mo. Policies for their protection from measles infection are still to be investigated.

Effect of early measles vaccination (AIK‐C strain) for preterm infants

“…Because the average titer decreased by 1.3 during 1–3 months after birth, we estimated that the maternally conferred antibody's half‐life is approximately 2 months. This agreed with the finding of approximately 1.5 months reported previously …”

Systematic Review of Measles and Rubella Serology Studies

“…For measles, many studies show that vaccine‐induced maternal antibodies decline more rapidly than infection‐induced maternal antibodies . Our search identified seven studies published since 1999 that provided additional measles maternal antibody data that we could add to Fig. of the prior review .…”

Measles and mumps outbreaks in Lebanon: trends and links

“…There is no data in Lebanon that would help assess the seropositivity of women of childbearing age against measles or mumps. However, children from immunized mothers may still be susceptible to infection despite maternal immunization since maternal antibody levels can be affected by certain factors like prematurity and declining maternal immunity due to decreased exposure to wild-type viruses [20,21]. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends routine vaccination of children with the measles-mumpsrubella (MMR) vaccine in a 2-dose series scheduled at 12-15 months and 4-6 years with the possibility of giving the 2nd dose as early as 4 weeks after the 1st one [22].…”