Mumps outbreak in a highly vaccinated school population: Assessment of secondary vaccine failure using IgG avidity measurements

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 25; no. 24; pp. 4665 - 4670
• Main Authors: Park, Dae Won, Nam, Myung-Hyun, Kim, Jung Yeon, Kim, Hee Jung, Sohn, Jang Wook, Cho, Yunjung, Song, Ki-Joon, Kim, Min Ja
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 11.06.2007; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age; Allergy and Immunology; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antibodies, Viral - immunology; Antibody Affinity; Applied microbiology; Avidity; Biological and medical sciences; Disease Outbreaks; Failure; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Immunization; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Infections; Korea; Male; Microbiology; Mumps; Mumps - epidemiology; Mumps - immunology; Mumps Vaccine - immunology; Mumps virus - immunology; Outbreaks; Patients; Population; Statistical analysis; Students; Vaccine failure; Vaccines; Vaccines, antisera, therapeutical immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies (general aspects); Viral infections; Korea; Germany; Vaccine failure; Avidity; Mumps; Infection; Viral disease; IgG; Vaccine; Failure
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2007.04.013

Abstract From March to April 2006, an outbreak of mumps occurred in Gyeonggi, Korea. The aim of this study was to describe and discriminate between primary and secondary vaccine failure in a highly vaccinated population for mumps using IgG avidity testing. Fifteen clinical mumps cases occurred among 41 students. Among these 15 patients, 11 vaccinated patients were considered secondary vaccine failures with high IgG titers and a high avidity index (AI, ≥32%); an unvaccinated patient was considered to have primary infection with high IgG titers and low AI, and three vaccinated patients were considered as other infections with low IgG titers and low AI. Among 26 unaffected students, 5 vaccinated patients were retrospectively diagnosed as sub-clinical infection with high IgG titers and high AI; the remaining students had low IgG titers and low AI except for one previously infected student. The results of this study show that secondary vaccine failure played an important role in this mumps outbreak. Therefore, booster immunization for mumps should be considered in immunized adolescents to prevent further outbreaks.