Efficacy of two dose measles vaccination in a community setting.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the efficacy of two dose and single dose measles vaccination in a community setting.

DESIGN

Two community ICDS blocks with populations of 8990 and 8550 children below 12 years of age were selected. Block A had 1560 children between 9 mo to 1 year of age and Block B had 1380 children between the age of 9 mo to 1 year.

METHODS

All eligible children between 9 mo to 1 year of age were given measles vaccination in October 1994. Only the children in Group A were given a second dose of measles (as MMR) in April 1995; six months after the first dose. A survey was undertaken from January 1996 to April 1996 to clinically evaluate the number of cases of measles in both these blocks.

RESULTS

In Block A 3 children developed measles, whereas in Block B, there were 16 cases of measles (p < 0.01). All other parameters in both groups, e.g., cold chain maintenance were similar.

CONCLUSION

This study supports the superiority of two dose measles vaccination given at an interval of 6 months over a single dose measles in a community setting.