29.03.2024

Measles vaccine for children

Measles is considered a very dangerous infectious disease with frequent fatal cases. Complications of this viral disease are otitis, pneumonia, inflammation of the brain. They cause blindness, mental retardation, damage to the organ of hearing.

Acquisition of immunity from measles involves one vaccination and one revaccination. Vaccination against this infection is set at 12 months, and the period of revaccination is 6 years.

The second administration of the vaccine helps to protect children who have not developed a stable immunity to the disease after the first vaccination.

For vaccination, both monovaccine (measles dry vaccine, Ruvax) and a combination preparation that protects against mumps and rubella (mumps and measles vaccine, Priorix, MMP-II) is used as a combination. The vaccine contains attenuated measles viruses.

Pros

Vaccination protects against measles by 96-98%. There are no specific drugs acting for the measles virus, so the only effective defense against such a virus is vaccination. Immunity after it lasts for more than 25 years.

Arguments against

  • Vaccination can cause a severe allergic reaction if your baby is allergic to chicken egg whites. This applies to imported vaccines, since the Russian contain proteins of quail eggs.
  • Polyclinics offer predominantly Russian vaccines, and if parents want to inoculate a baby with a foreign drug, they will have to buy it separately.

Adverse reactions and possible complications

Symptoms of a normal reaction to measles vaccine include fever (it often does not exceed 39 degrees), runny nose, redness of the mucous membrane of the pharynx, cough, rash. Such symptoms may appear from the fifth to the fifteenth day after vaccination in 10-15% of children.

Within 2 days after the injection, 10% of children may have a local reaction in the form of slight swelling, soreness and hyperemia. Such special reactions do not require any special treatment and pass on their own.

Possible complications after the introduction of measles vaccine include:

  • Allergic reactions.
  • Febrile seizures.
  • Encephalitis, which occurs in 1 case out of a million vaccinated babies (mainly in immunodeficiency). It should be noted that during infection with measles, the incidence of encephalitis is 1 case out of 1000 cases.
How to prevent complications?

It is important to consider possible contraindications to the introduction of the measles vaccine:

  • Vaccination is not carried out within 3 months after blood transfusion.
  • Vaccination should not be performed in acute illness, immunodeficiencies, active tuberculosis, cancer and exacerbations of chronic pathologies.
  • The vaccine should not be administered if the child has an allergic reaction to eggs and aminoglycoside antibiotics.
Should I vaccinate?

It is worth recalling that measles infection occurs by airborne droplets, so it is very easy to catch the virus, especially if the child attends a preschool or school. The virus infects the respiratory tract, causing severe bronchitis and pneumonia.

In addition, for 6–12 months after such a disease, the child’s immunity remains weakened, and therefore respiratory diseases develop very often. So measles vaccination is undoubtedly important.

How to make an injection?

Before vaccination, the child should be examined by a pediatrician to identify contraindications. You should also take blood and urine tests. If a child has any neurological problems, it is also examined by a neurologist. With an increased risk of allergies before vaccination, antihistamines are prescribed, which continue to be given to the baby 2 days after the injection.

Since the proticorex vaccine is produced in a dry form, it is diluted before administration with the antiseptic rules. The drug is injected under the skin in the shoulder area or under the scapula.

What if there are side effects?

For many babies, measles vaccine does not cause any side effects. But even if a child has local changes, a rash, fever and catarrhal phenomena, they quickly pass without a trace. You can alleviate the condition of the baby with the help of symptomatic treatment, for example, to give the baby an antipyretic agent.

If the parents have noticed a pronounced local reaction, the baby’s temperature has risen above 39 degrees or there are some other warning signs, you should immediately call a doctor.

2 thoughts on “Measles vaccine for children

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