RESPONSE OF VOLTA CHILDREN TO LIVE ATTENUATED MEASLES VIRUS VACCINE

Experience so far with the Enders B-level Edmonston strain of live attenuated measles vaccine has been principally with children in the USA in whom natural measles carries a low mortality. Measles is associated with an appreciably higher mortality rate in developing countries; in Upper Volta, climate, nutritional status, degree of parasitic infestation and concurrent infections may contribute to this. The present report summarizes a pilot study in Ouagadougou, Upper Volta, designed to obtain information on the response of Volta children to Enders vaccine and to determine the feasibility of using this vaccine on a large scale.The observations indicate that Volta children, despite the hazards of natural measles, respond in essentially the same manner to live vaccine given alone or with gamma-globulin as do children in other areas. The febrile reactions which characterize infection with the attenuated measles virus were of insufficient importance to warrant the concurrent use of gamma-globulin in a forthcoming mass measles vaccination campaign in Upper Volta.