Reappraisal of MMR vaccines currently used in Korea.
BACKGROUND
Although MMR vaccine is widely used in Korea, there are limited studies on the currently used vaccines. We evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of MMR vaccines in Korean children.


METHODS
For first and second dose immunization, children aged 12-23 months and 4-6 years were enrolled. All subjects received a single dose of either Priorix™ (Glaxo Smithkline Biologicals, Rixensart, Belgium) or MMRII® (Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, PA, USA). Pre- and postvaccine sera were collected from all participants. Antibody levels were determined by ELISA (Enzygnost®; Dade Behring, Schwalbach, Germany). Safety monitoring included local adverse events for 5 days and systemic adverse events for 42 days following vaccination.


RESULTS
One hundred twenty-one subjects were enrolled in the 12-23 months age group and 39 in the 4-6 years age group. The seroconversion rate in the 12-23 months age group was 97.9-100.0% for measles, 85.1-88.9% for mumps and 100.0% for rubella. All children 4-6 years of age previously seronegative showed seroconversion for measles, mumps and rubella. Local adverse events were reported in 8.3-16.1% (12-23 months age) and 27.8-31.6% (4-6 years age), and 40.0-48.2% (12-23 months age) and 42.1-61.1% (4-6 years age) experienced at least more than 1 systemic adverse reaction. No vaccine-related serious adverse events were reported. Among the same age groups, there was no significant difference in adverse events between the two vaccines.


CONCLUSIONS
The MMR vaccines are safe and show good immunogenic responses in children. These data will be invaluable when we introduce diverse vaccines in the following future.
Lee
Hyunju
H
Department of Pediatrics, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Kim
Han Wool
HW
Cho
Hye Kyung
HK
Park
Eun Ae
EA
Choi
Kyong Min
KM
Kim
Kyung-Hyo
KH
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022542:Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009107:Mumps / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011379:Prognosis; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012409:Rubella / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods*
D022542:Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine