The efficacy of vaccination against measles before and one year after the vaccination for measles elimination programme; and one-year variation in mumps and rubella seroprevalences in a group of primary school students who had not received rubella mumps vaccine by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

The aim of this study is to determine by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) the efficacy of vaccination against measles before and one year after the vaccination for measles elimination programme; and one-year variation in mumps and rubella seroprevalences in a group of primary school students who had not received rubella mumps vaccine.The period between two stages was considered as ?one year? (November 2003-January 2005). The students participated to the study had received Measles Vaccine in December 2003, independently from this study, in the frame of Measles Elimination Program of Ministry of Health of Turkish Republic.To conduct the study, permissions from Ankara National Education Directorate and Gazi University Local Ethic committee and written Informed consent of the students? families were taken. ELISA method was used in the laboratory study. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 10.0 for Windows statistical package program.The measles immunization of 744 students were determines at the first stage of the study, and 559 (75.1%) students? in the second. Before the vaccination measles antibody titer level of 85.0% of the students was more than 0.2 IU/mL. While evaluated a year after the vaccination the measles antibody titer level of 97.1% of the students were more than 0.2 IU/mL.Students of 10.2% was seronegative for rubella in the 2003. While complete protection level was considered as higher than 100 IU/ml, one year, rubella infection rate was determined as 16.2%among seronegative students at age 6-13.Students of 23.2% were seronegative for mumps in the 2003. Seronegative students 141 (84.4%) of the 167 were examined one year after, for the second time. One year mumps infection rate was 44.0% among mumps seronegative students at age 6-13.This study showed that the cutch-up vaccination performed in December 2003 in the frame of measles elimination program was successful and the addition of rubella and mumps vaccine in the national immunization schedule is an appropriate decision.