Schluederberg, A. (Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn. 06510), S. H. Lamm, P. J. Landrigan, and F. L. Black. Measles immunity in children vaccinated before one year of age. Am J Epidemiol 97: 402–409.—The immune status of children vaccinated before 1 year of age was investigated during a measles epidemic in an industrial section of Connecticut. Of the 61 documented cases which occurred in former recipients of live vaccine, 46% were children vaccinated before age 1; children vaccinated before 1 year of age comprised one-third of the total vaccinated population under study. The disproportionately increased number of cases in children vaccinated before their first birthday was not statistically significant Of children vaccinated before age 1, 80% had demonstrable measles antibody. The geometric mean antibody titer of those vaccinated in infancy was lower than that of children vaccinated after 1 year of age (p < 0.01). Following revaccination, 20 of 21 seronegative children who had been vaccinated before age 1 year showed an IgG response without IgM; both IgM and IgG appeared following primary vaccination in 7 previously unvaccinated children. A child with measles encephalitis who had previously received live vaccine at 10 months of age also showed a secondary antibody response. The study suggests that infancy is only a relative contraindication of live measles virus vaccination; it further suggests that capacity for anamnestic response is not necessarily protective against measles.
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Schluederberg et al. (1973) studied this question.