Vaccination against measles: a neverending story.

Abstract

Measles, a highly contagious viral disease, is a major childhood killer in developing countries, accounting for almost 1 million deaths every year globally. Measles virus normally does not cause a persistent infection, no animal reservoir for measles virus exists, no vector is involved in its spread, only one serotype exists, the virus is antigenically stable and vaccination with the currently used live attenuated vaccines proved to be highly effective in preventing disease. Therefore, theoretically measles should be considered eradicable. This article provides a review of past and current measles vaccination efforts and development and need of new generation experimental measles vaccines.

• Authors: Koert J Stittelaar, Rik L de Swart, Albert D M E Osterhaus
• Journal: Expert review of vaccines (Expert Rev Vaccines) Vol. 1 Issue 2 Pg. 151-9 (Aug 2002) ISSN: 1476-0584 [Print] England
• PMID: 12901554 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Measles Vaccine
• Vaccines, Attenuated
• Vaccines, Inactivated

Topics

• Animals
• Child
• Humans
• Measles (prevention & control)
• Measles Vaccine (administration & dosage, immunology)
• Vaccination
• Vaccines, Attenuated (immunology)
• Vaccines, Inactivated (immunology)