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Early dose of measles vaccine can decrease mortality, morbidity
Receiving early measles vaccination before age 9 months can reduce general morbidity in children and may improve their general health, according to recent findings published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
“In low-income countries, [WHO] recommends receiving [measles vaccine (MV)] at 9 months of age,” Sofie Biering-Sørensen, PhD student, from the Research Center for Vitamins and Vaccines and the Bandim Health Project at the Statens Serum Institute in Denmark, and colleagues wrote. “Findings of another study indicated … that MV reduced non–measles-related mortality among hospitalized children in Guinea-Bissau … [but] we do not know whether early MV receipt affects the incidence of less serious morbidities for which children are not hospitalized.”
Previous study findings demonstrated that an additional dose of MV in children before age 9 months may benefit nonspecific effects (NSEs). The researchers conducted a randomized trial to examine NSEs of early MV receipt on child mortality and morbidity in Guinea-Bissau. They assigned children randomly at a ratio of 2:1 to receive either two doses of MV at ages 18 weeks and 9 months (intervention group) or the currently recommended one dose of MV at age 9 months (control group). From enrollment to 9 months, investigators visited the children weekly and compared the two groups using Cox and binomial regression models.
Among 1,592 children evaluated, Biering-Sørensen and colleagues saw no association between early measles vaccination and a higher risk for adverse events such as fever, rash and convulsions within the first 2 weeks. In the intervention group, the researchers saw a reduced risk for maternally reported and assistant-observed morbidity. They observed a tendency toward a stronger beneficial effect in boys compared with girls. From day 15 and beyond, the early measles vaccination was associated with reduced vomiting (HR = 0.86%; 95% CI, 0.75-0.98), diarrhea (HR = 0.89%; 95% CI, 0.82-0.97) and fever (HR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-1).
“The outcomes of the present study indicate a decreased hazard of morbidity after early MV receipt, at 18 weeks of age, and add to the existing evidence supporting that an early two-dose MV strategy has beneficial NSEs,” Biering-Sørensen and colleagues wrote. “Based on the current evidence, recommending a standard dose of MV at 18 weeks of age could decrease mortality and morbidity in a low-income setting such as Guinea-Bissau.” – by Savannah Demko
Disclosure: Biering-Sørensen and colleagues report no relevant financial disclosures.
