Immunogenicity of measles vaccine from a hospital based and outreach programme in rural Kenya

Data on efficacy of rural immunization programmes are scarce. We investigated the seroconversion rate following measles vaccination in an outreach programme in Kakamega District, Kenya. Of 170 children, 120 (71%) showed seroconversion after vaccination. Haemagglutination inhibition test was performed on paired blood samples before and 30 days or more (mean 46, range 30-70 days) after vaccination. These results are comparable to results found by other studies in developing countries. Geometrical mean titres before vaccination of children in the age group above 14 months were significantly lower than in the younger age groups (P less than 0.001). This investigation indicates that seroconversion rate studies are feasible in remote rural areas.