Vaccination against rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps in nursing students

Abstract

The past history of infection and vaccination, and serum antibodies against rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps were investigated, before vaccine was inoculated in the susceptible nursing students. The subjects were 221 nursing students (208 women, 13 men, the average age 18.4 +/- 1.8 years old) who entered Nagasaki University from 2001 to 2003. The positive rates of the past history of rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps were 49.8%, 28.1%, 86.4%, 50.7%, and that of previous vaccination were 31.7%, 69.2%, 10.9%, 5.3%, respectively. The serum antibody was measured with HI assay for rubella, or with EIA assay for measles, chickenpox, and mumps. The positive rates for the antibodies against rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps were 92.8%, 90.0%, 82.3%, and 85.0%, respectively. The rates for vaccine inoculation to the students without antibody were 92.8% in rubella, 100.0% in measles, 66.7% in chickenpox, 85.0% in mumps, and that to the low titer antibody (2.0 < or = EIA-IgG < 4.0) students were 70.6% in measles, 48.0% in chickenpox, 93.8% in mumps, respectively. Susceptible nursing students, as well as the medical stuff, should be vaccinated in order to prevent hospital infection of rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps.