Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.6minutes.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=491158
Breakthrough measles is different
by Louise Wallace
Breakthrough measles may sometimes occur in partially vaccinated children, but it is milder and presents with different symptoms, Australian researchers has found.
In a review of 33 measles cases in children during 2006, breakthrough measles in previously vaccinated children was characterised by fewer symptoms, a shorter duration of prodrome, and an atypical rash.
Unlike unvaccinated children with measles, none of those with breakthrough measles were hospitalised, the report in Communicable Diseases Intelligence found.
?MMR vaccine remains highly effective in preventing measles,? says study co-author Dr Vicky Sheppeard of the Communicable Diseases Control Branch at NSW Health. ?Vaccine failures are preventable if GPs ensure children get their second dose on time.?
The report found that children who had received at least one dose of MMR developed measles infection at only 2.4% of the rate in the unvaccinated population, and children who received 2 doses developed measles at less than 1% of that observed in unvaccinated children.
?Doctors should be aware of atypical symptoms in people who have had only one MMR dose and be cautious not to overlook the virus,? Dr Sheppeard told 6minutes.
She said younger adults and new parents were susceptible, as they are less immune to the disease and more likely to have been vaccinated when there was no secondary dose.
21 July 2009
Breakthrough measles is different
by Louise Wallace
Breakthrough measles may sometimes occur in partially vaccinated children, but it is milder and presents with different symptoms, Australian researchers has found.
In a review of 33 measles cases in children during 2006, breakthrough measles in previously vaccinated children was characterised by fewer symptoms, a shorter duration of prodrome, and an atypical rash.
Unlike unvaccinated children with measles, none of those with breakthrough measles were hospitalised, the report in Communicable Diseases Intelligence found.
?MMR vaccine remains highly effective in preventing measles,? says study co-author Dr Vicky Sheppeard of the Communicable Diseases Control Branch at NSW Health. ?Vaccine failures are preventable if GPs ensure children get their second dose on time.?
The report found that children who had received at least one dose of MMR developed measles infection at only 2.4% of the rate in the unvaccinated population, and children who received 2 doses developed measles at less than 1% of that observed in unvaccinated children.
?Doctors should be aware of atypical symptoms in people who have had only one MMR dose and be cautious not to overlook the virus,? Dr Sheppeard told 6minutes.
She said younger adults and new parents were susceptible, as they are less immune to the disease and more likely to have been vaccinated when there was no secondary dose.
21 July 2009