Investigating the measles susceptibility gap in Ontario infants

Affiliations

¹ Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1M1, Canada; Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 3M7, Canada. Electronic address: shelly.bolotin@utoronto.ca.
² Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1M1, Canada.
³ National Microbiology Laboratory Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3L5, Canada.
⁴ National Microbiology Laboratory Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3L5, Canada; Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
⁵ Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV), IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), and Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia (NS) B3H 4R2, Canada.
⁶ Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 3M7, Canada.
⁷ Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, B3H 4R2, Canada; Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, Halifax B3J 2R8, Canada.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1E8, Canada; Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
⁹ Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 3M7, Canada; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1E8, Canada.
¹¹ Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1M1, Canada; Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1E8, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 3M7, Canada.

PMID: 40048933
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.126908

Investigating the measles susceptibility gap in Ontario infants

Shelly Bolotin et al. Vaccine. 2025.

. 2025 Apr 30:54:126908.

doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.126908. Epub 2025 Mar 5.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1M1, Canada; Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 3M7, Canada. Electronic address: shelly.bolotin@utoronto.ca.
² Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1M1, Canada.
³ National Microbiology Laboratory Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3L5, Canada.
⁴ National Microbiology Laboratory Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3L5, Canada; Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
⁵ Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV), IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), and Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia (NS) B3H 4R2, Canada.
⁶ Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 3M7, Canada.
⁷ Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, B3H 4R2, Canada; Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, Halifax B3J 2R8, Canada.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1E8, Canada; Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
⁹ Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 3M7, Canada; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1E8, Canada.
¹¹ Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1M1, Canada; Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1E8, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 3M7, Canada.

PMID: 40048933
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.126908

Abstract

Background: Prior to receiving their first dose of measles-containing vaccine, infants may be protected against infection either via antibodies obtained transplacentally from their mothers or by herd immunity. However, there is evidence that transplacental protection may wane well-before the age of first measles vaccination.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of infants <12 months of age at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario, and their mothers. We calculated the probability of measles susceptibility in infants and predicted the mean antibody titre by age.

Results: Measles seroprevalence decreased with age, starting at 70.4 % (38/54) in the first month of life and declining to 0.0 % (0/18) by four months of age. Regression models adjusted for maternal place of birth and measles immunity status indicated that the odds of susceptibility approximately tripled with every increasing month of age.

Interpretation: Infants in our study are likely susceptible to measles for the majority of their first year of life. All measles-exposed infants should be presumed susceptible, regardless of age. High population-level measles vaccine coverage is essential to protect this susceptible population.

Keywords: Infant immunity; Measles; Vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Scott Halperin reports a relationship with GlaxoSmithKline Inc. that includes: funding grants. Scott Halperin reports a relationship with Sanofi Pasteur Inc. that includes: funding grants. Todd Hachette reports a relationship with GlaxoSmithKline Inc. that includes: funding grants. Todd Hachette reports a relationship with Pfizer Inc. that includes: funding grants. Todd Hachette reports a relationship with National Institutes of Health that includes: funding grants. Shelly Bolotin is the Director of the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases (CVPD) at the University of Toronto. The CVPD receives operational support from a mix of funding sources, including through donations from pharmaceutical companies. A robust set of governance practices are in place to safeguard the academic freedom of the CVPD. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Investigating the measles susceptibility gap in Ontario infants

Affiliations

Investigating the measles susceptibility gap in Ontario infants

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

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LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous