Seroresponse to the second measles vaccine dose at school entry in Qassim province, Saudi Arabia

In 2001, the measles immunization schedule in Saudi Arabia was changed to 2 measles, mumps and rubella vaccine doses at 12 months and at 6 years. In this follow-up study we evaluated the seroresponse to the second measles dose before school entry. We recruited 138 children randomly from primary health care centres in Qassinn; 124 children completed the study. Blood samples were collected before and 1 month after giving the second measles dose, before the age of 6 years. There was a statistically significant increase in the geometric mean titre of measles antibody, from 2205 m lU/mL before vaccination to 4723 mlU/mL after [P = 0.0001]. The proportion of children with positive ELISA results increased fro++ 94.2% before vaccination to 99.2% after [P = 0.02], while the proportion with protective level [00 mlU/mL] increased from 97.1% before vaccination to 99.19% after [P= 0.21]. The 2-dose measles immunization schedule can produce optimum protection at school entry if high vaccination coverage is guaranteed

Plasmodium falciparum infection during pregnancy in an unstable transmission area in eastern Sudan

A 1-year prospective community-based study of malaria during pregnancy was conducted in an area of seasonal and unstable malaria transmission in eastern Sudan. At a village antenatal clinic, 89 non-pregnant controls and 86 pregnant women were enrolled and followed every 2 weeks until 6 weeks after delivery. The incidence of Plasmodium falciparum infection was significantly higher among pregnant than control women [17.4% versus 5.6%] with no difference between primigravidae and multigravidae [22.2% versus 15.2%].There was no significant difference in the mean haemoglobin concentration between infected and uninfected mothers [9.1 +/- 1.3 versus 9.5 +/- 0.6 g/dL] but the mean birth weight of their babies was significantly lower [2.72 +/- 0.26 versus 2.95 +/- 0.05 kg] despite prompt case management of infected women