Measles vaccines: novel generations and new strategies

Although the introduction of live attenuated measles vaccines in industrialized countries in the 1960s has largely contributed to the control of measles, the disease remains a major cause of serious disease and mortality in many developing countries. This is largely because of low vaccine coverage and interference by maternally derived antibodies. To overcome these problems, new vaccination strategies and novel generations of vaccines should be developed. Among the approaches presently considered are the use of different routes of application of new attenuated measles and recombinant viruses and of viral subunits presented with new adjuvant systems. To evaluate the potential of these new approaches in terms of protective mechanisms, efficacy, and safety, a recently evaluated macaque model of measles virus infection may be expected to be a potent tool.