Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Seroprevalence of Measles, Rubella, Tetanus, and Diphtheria Antibodies among Children in Haiti, 2017

2020; American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Volume: 103; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4269/ajtmh.20-0112

1476-1645

Anna A. Minta, Jocelyne Andre-Alboth, Lana Childs, Douglas Nace, Gloria Rey-Benito, Jacques Boncy, Paul Adrien, Jeannot François, Nadia Phaïmyr Jn Charles, Valery Blot, Jodi Vanden Eng, Jeffrey W. Priest, Eric Rogier, Rania A. Tohme,

Virology and Viral Diseases

In Haiti, measles, rubella, and maternal and neonatal tetanus have been eliminated, but a diphtheria outbreak is ongoing as of 2019. We conducted a nationally representative, household-based, two-stage cluster survey among children aged 5-7 years in 2017 to assess progress toward maintenance of control and elimination of selected vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). We stratified Haiti into West region (West department, including the capital city) and non-West region (all other departments). We obtained vaccination history and dried blood spots, and measured antibody concentrations to VPDs on a multiplex bead assay. Among 1,146 children, national seropositivity was 83% (95% CI: 80-86%) for tetanus, 83% (95% CI: 81-85%) for diphtheria, 87% (95% CI: 85-89%) for measles, and 84% (95% CI: 81-87%) for rubella. None of the children had long-term immunity to tetanus or diphtheria (IgG concentration ≥ 1 international unit/mL). Seropositivity in the West region was lower than that in the non-West region. Vaccination coverage was 68% (95% CI: 61-74%) for ≥ 3 doses of tetanus- and diphtheria-containing vaccine (DTP3), 84% (95% CI: 80-87%) for one dose of measles-rubella vaccine (MR1), and 20% (95% CI: 16-24%) for MR2. The seroprevalence of measles, rubella, and diphtheria antibodies is lower than population immunity levels needed to prevent disease transmission, particularly in the West region; reintroduction of these diseases could lead to an outbreak. To maintain VPD control and elimination, Haiti should achieve DTP3 and MR2 coverage ≥ 95%, and include tetanus and diphtheria booster doses in the routine immunization schedule.