Journal of Vaccines & Vaccination

Serosurveillance of measles virus amongst vaccinated children of a rural population of Sindh

7^th Middle East - Global Summit and Expo on Vaccines & Vaccination

September 28-29, 2015 Dubai, UAE

Zeb Hussain, Muhammad Asif Qureshi and Shaheen Sharafat

Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Vaccines Vaccin

Abstract:

Background: Measles is a contagious viral infection common in childhood. Vaccination against measles is included in the expanded program of immunization (EPI). However, and alarmingly, a high mortality rate is observed due to measles infection in Pakistan. Moreover a recent outbreak of measles in various areas of Pakistan further highlights the problem. It is therefore important to investigate measles specific IgG (antibody) levels in our population. Objective: To quantify measles specific IgG antibodies amongst vaccinated children in the district Qamber Shahdadkot, Sindh. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Microbiology section of the Dow-Diagnostic-Research-and- Reference-Laboratory (DDRRL), DUHS after Institutional Review Board approval (IRB-516/DUHS/-14) during August- December-2014. A total of 173 participants (residents of district Qamber Shahdadkot, Sindh) aged between 1-5 years were recruited in the study. Blood samples were collected as per standard phlebotomy guidelines. Blood was stored at 4o C overnight. Samples were subsequently spun at a speed of 10,000 rpm to separate sera, which were divided into small aliquots to be frozen at -20oC. Frozen sera were transported to the DDRRL on dry ice. Measles specific IgG (antibody) titers were quantified using enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Results: Blood was collected from a total of 173 individuals ranging between 1-5 years of age. Of these, a total of 88 participants were males and 85 were females. Of the 173 investigated samples, only 53 (30.6%) showed protective IgG titers against measles while 120 (69%) were sero-negative. Measles specific IgG antibodies titers were higher in female participants compared to the males. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that a substantial percentage of vaccinated children in district Qamber-Shahdadkot did not have protective antibody titres against measles. It is therefore extremely important to investigate measles specific IgG levels in various parts of Pakistan in order to implement appropriate protective measures. Biography: Zeb Hussain received BSc (2006) in Chemistry, BS (2010) in Medical Technology and MPhil (2015) in Microbiology from Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan. He has six years of experience in Microbiology Diagnostic Laboratory as a Medical Technologist and also worked on different research projects. He is highly interested to work on infectious diseases and looking for PhD position in international Universities.

Biography :

Email: zebjagirani@yahoo.com