Immunity against measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hepatitis A and hepatitis B among adult asylum seekers in the Netherlands, 2016.

Immunity against measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hepatitis A and hepatitis B among adult asylum seekers in the Netherlands, 2016. Vaccine. 2018 Feb 14;: Authors: Freidl GS, Tostmann A, Curvers M, Ruijs WLM, Smits G, Schepp R, Duizer E, Boland G, de Melker H, van der Klis FRM, Hautvast JLA, Veldhuijzen IK Abstract Asylum seekers are a vulnerable population for contracting infectious diseases. Outbreaks occur among children and adults. In the Netherlands, asylum seeker children are offered vaccination according to the National Immunization Program. Little is known about protection against vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) in adult asylum seekers. In this 2016 study, we assessed the immunity of adult asylum seekers against nine VPD to identify groups that might benefit from additional vaccinations. We invited asylum seekers from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Ethiopia to participate in a serosurvey. Participants provided informed consent and a blood sample, and completed a questionnaire. We measured prevalence of protective antibodies to measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio type 1-3 and hepatitis A and B, stratified them by country of origin and age groups. The median age of the 622 participants was 28 years (interquartile range: 23-35), 81% were male and 48% originated from Syria. Overall, seroprotection was 88% for measles (range between countries: 83-93%), 91% ...
Source: Vaccine - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Tags: Vaccine Source Type: research