Measles seroprevalence in Tianjin, China

Background: Global efforts toward measles elimination have made tremendous progress in recent years. However, many countries (including China), have not met recent WHO elimination goals, despite wide spread immunization campaigns. In a collaboration to better understand measles susceptibility in Tianjin, China, the University of Michigan and the Tianjin Centers for Diseases Control have conducted a population-based cross-sectional study throughout the municipality. Methods & Materials: We interviewed and drew dried blood spots (DBS) from a population-based systematic random sample of 2406 people, 1713 of whom were age 1-49 years. The DBS were tested for measles IgG to determine measles susceptibility. Results: High levels of immune protection (1-4 years, 96%; 5-9 years 100%; 10-14 years 89%) were evident in children under age 15 (who likely received two doses of measles containing vaccine) and in adults over age 40. Among females age 30-39, 82% tested IgG positive; among males age 30-39, 80% tested IgG positive. Residents of rural areas were more likely to be positive for IgG (90.6%) when compared to Suburban (85%) and Urban (88%). Likewise residents of Tianjin were more likely to test positive for IgG when compared with members of the non-resident “float” population (89% and 85%). Conclusion: Measles vaccination campaigns have successfully targeted children, which is mirrored in the IgG results that we found and in measles cases reported to the TJCDC. Perhaps an adult booster dose should be considered as well as initiatives to vaccinate more urban/suburban populations. Innovative interventions will be required to completely eliminate measles in China. Funding for this project was provided by the National Institutes of Health, Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (5U01-AI-088671).

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.