Measles Antibodies in Mother-Infant Dyads in Tianjin, China

Abstract

Background: Many measles cases in Tianjin, China, occur in infants whose mothers were born after widespread vaccination programs. We assessed age-specific decreases in maternal measles antibodies in infants and examined maternal and infant characteristics in relation to infant antibody titers.

Methods: Infant and mother dyads were enrolled from a sample of immunization clinics in all Tianjin districts. Participants' antibody titers were measured from dried blood spots. A multivariable log-linear model regressed infant antibody titers onto infant and mother characteristics.

Results: Among 551 infants aged ≤8 months, protective levels of measles antibodies were observed in infants whose mothers had measles titers ≥800 IU/mL (mean antibody titer, 542.5 IU/mL) or 400 to <800 IU/mL (mean, 202.2 IU/mL). Compared with infants whose mothers had no history of disease or vaccination, those with a history of disease had 1.60 times higher titers (95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.43).

Conclusions: Limited vaccination programs in the 1980s have resulted in many Chinese women with inadequate protection against measles and an accordingly low efficiency of transplacental transmission to a fetus. Current vaccination programs, which target children aged 8 months through adolescence may be ineffective in controlling transmission of measles to infants.

Keywords: China; maternal antibodies; measles.