PEDIATRICS Vol. 65 No. 6 June 1980, pp. 1086-1089
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Rubella Susceptibility in Sixth Graders: Effectiveness of Current Immunization Practice

Michael R. Lawless MD1, Jon S. Abramson MD1, Joseph E. Harlan MD1, and Doris S. Kelsey MD1

1 Department of Pediatrics, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Rubella hemagglutination inhibition antibody titer was determined for 702 sixth grade students from nine randomly chosen schools in a community served well medically. Rubella immunization had been given by private physicians, the health department, hospital clinics, and through a mass immunization effort in 1970. The overall susceptibility rate, as defined by a rubella hemagglutination inhibition titer of less than 1:8, was 15%. Susceptibility did not differ significantly in regard to sex, race, or source of vaccine. Of 469 children with a documented rubella immunization, 13.2% were susceptible or vaccine failures. Menarche was reported by 30% of the girls. To increase the level of protection against rubella during the childbearing years, continued emphasis on early childhood immunization combined with consideration of a booster rubella immunization for preadolescents is recommended.

Submitted on August 8, 1979
Accepted on October 9, 1979