A seroepidemiological study of measles infection in normal and handicapped persons in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Serological studies in a group of children showed that there was a high degree of immunity to measles at birth (100%), but this decreased rapidly so that by the age of 5 months there was 36% immunity and by 7-8 months the level had dropped to 5%. However, there was a gradual rise from the age of 9 months onwards, so that by the age 6-9 years there was 75% immunity and from 10 years onwards there was 100% immunity. The findings suggest that measles vaccination can be given from the age of 6 months onwards, but this needs to be confirmed by further studies. There is need to compare children under the age of 5 years who are blind or deaf with a control group in order to determine the aetiological role of measles infection in these handicaps in Lagos.