Measles control in institutional settings.
This paper reports on the utility of screening pediatric psychiatric admissions for the presence of antibodies to measles to determine the need for administration of MMR Vaccine to 314 children admitted over an 11-month period. Four fifths (80.6 percent) of the children had positive antibody tests when screened. No sex difference in antibody prevalence was noted but Caucasians were more likely (18.2 percent) than African American (6.2 percent) to have negative antibody tests. No relationship was noted between psychiatric diagnosis and antibody test results. A substantial proportion of adolescents have negative or equivocal measles antibody tests and interpretation of such results may be difficult. Antibody testing is cost-effective in institutional settings and, in the future, may become so in selected ambulatory settings.
South Carolina Department of Mental Health, Columbia, USA.
C S
CS
Kim
H H
HH
Wright
E R
ER
Brenner
E
E
Parker
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013022:South Carolina