Pre-and post-vaccine measles antibody status in infants using serum and oral-fluid testing: an evaluation of routine immunization in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Despite the use of measles vaccine, measles incidence in Ethiopia remains a serious public health concern. Progress towards the control of measles requires a national capacity to measure programme effectiveness. This includes evaluation of vaccine effectiveness in infants attending the routine immunization. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the measles routine immunization activities in Addis Ababa. Methods: This study evaluated pre- and post-vaccine antibodies in children attending for routine measles immunization in Addis Ababa. Infants who presented to 3 health centres between September-November, 1998 for routine measles vaccination were enrolled in the study. In total 296 infants (median age 9 months) provided blood and oral-fluid samples, of which 230 (77%) returned to provide post vaccine samples (median interval of 15 days). Screening of sera was undertaken using commercial indirect ELISA kits, and of oral fluids using an in-house IgM-capture ELISA. Results: Pre-vaccination serology showed 1.4% IgM positive, 2.0% IgG positive, and 97.0% seronegative. Post-vaccination seroprevalence of IgM and IgG was 91.3% and 85.0%, respectively, and 92.9% overall. The seroconversion rate was 92.6% (95%CI 88.2-95.7). Based on oral fluid results, 87.3% (95% CI 82.0-91.4) of children showed specific IgM antibody conversion. Conclusion: These results are in support of the recommended age for measles vaccination in Addis Ababa, and show the merit of oral-fluid IgM screening as a non-invasive alternative to blood for assessing vaccine effectiveness. Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2003; 17(3): 149-155