The Unprotected: Measles Seroprevalence in Children During the First Two Years of Life

Young children are particularly vulnerable to measles infections. Investigating the gap between the waning of maternal antibodies and onset of vaccination-induced immunity via seroprevalence studies can be hampered by recruiting enough young-aged participants. We present measles IgG-antibody results from 2148 patients aged 0 to 2 years, who were hospitalized with acute aseptic meningitis or encephalitis in Lower Saxony or Bremen. Measles serology was performed for differential diagnostics clarification of neurotropic pathogens, during syndromic surveillance between 2006 and 2024. At birth, 79% of children presented with measles IgG-antibodies, but only 30% of three-month-old patients and 11% of five-month-olds. From 0 to 10 months, seropositivity declined monthly by 8%. Over 95% of children aged six to 11 months were unprotected. From 11 months onwards, measles seroprevalence increased, reaching 80-90% towards the end of the second year of life. Our results indicate an absence of maternal measles IgG antibodies after nine months of age and that vaccination starts around 11 months of age; however, not all children had received vaccination by their second birthday. These findings confirm the current recommendation to advance first measles vaccination to nine months in high-exposure settings and support efforts to increase vaccination rates in small children and young adults.