ABSTRACT
Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO); African region accounts for 36 of deaths caused by measles worldwide. Nigeria has; over the years; recorded the highest average annual measles incidence per 100;000 populations in Africa. Measles epidemics have consistently been reported in northern Nigeria; but not in the South; reports of reduced protective haemagglutination inhibition antibody titers among children in Ibadan; southern Nigeria was made. Investigation of the viral agent responsible for the disease outbreak among children presenting with rash in two semi urban areas in southern Nigeria was carried out to confirm the etiology of the disease. Methodology: Twenty six throat swabs (TS); and nineteen urine samples were collected from twenty six children residing in Onireke and Sabo areas of Ibadan following the report of an outbreak of rashes among children. Active case finding with the support of community leaders was used to locate the affected children. Multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (MRT-PCR); was used to identify the agent. Results: 21 of the 26 children screened tested positive for measles virus; but none was positive for Rubella virus. There was significant association between measles infection; and households with higher number of persons. Conclusion: Mass measles vaccination that targets overcrowded; rural and inaccessible areas is needed to increase herd immunity. Public health enlightenment on the benefits of vaccination is encouraged
Subject(s)
Child , Diagnosis/diagnosis , Disease Outbreaks/diagnosis , Measles virus , NigeriaABSTRACT
The adjuvanticity and immunogenicity of the heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) of Escherichia coli and of its non-toxic mutant; LTK63; was evaluated after intranasal administration of CBA mice with recombinant measles virus nucleoprotein (rMVNP) with or without LT or LTK63. Both LT and LTK63 were shown to be highly immunogenic with higher responses observed 4 weeks after the booster immunization. Although the nucleoprotein was immunogenic on its own; mice immunized with the nucleoprotein plus wild type LT produced significantly high antibody responses (p0.03). Mice that received the rMVNP with LTJ63 also generated strong antibody responses to rMVNP. These antibodies were also significantly higher than those of rMVNP alone (p>0.05). Data on IgG antibody isotype profiles showed that IgG 1 and IgG 2a were predominant in mice immunized with rMVNP + LT or LTK63 whereas IgG 1 predominated when rMVNP was given on its own implying that LT and LTK63 induce both Th1 and Th2-type immune responses. These results highlight the great potential of this non-toxic mutant of LT as a safe vaccine adjuvant