Studies with Live Attenuated Measles-Virus Vaccine

Introduction Evaluation of a live attenuated measles-virus vaccine propagated in canine renal cell culture revealed this antigen to be highly immunogenic in man when administered by various routes.1However, reactions to this and other attenuated measles vaccines2-4were not invariably mild when the virus was administered by a parenteral route. Aerosolization and intranasal instillation of dog kidney measles vaccine resulted in a more benign vaccine-induced infection. Therefore, we were encouraged to pursue the evaluation of these methods of immunization. In addition, the theoretical possibility of controlling reactions to vaccine with gamma globulin without jeopardizing immunogenicity was sufficiently attractive to justify investigation of this procedure. Accordingly, normal children in an open community were immunized with attenuated measles vaccine by these methods. Results of the first of a series of studies conducted in the public and parochial schools of St. Joseph, Mo. between December, 1959, and November, 1960, are presented