Kansenshogaku Zasshi
Online ISSN : 1884-569X
Print ISSN : 0387-5911
ISSN-L : 0387-5911
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
A Seroepidemiological Study on the Rubella Immunity Generated by Vaccination and Nationwide Epidemics in Japan : Analysis Using Big Data of a Commercial Diagnostic Laboratory
Fumihiko BANYukio MASUIYoshinori ITABASHISakae INOUYE
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2020 Volume 94 Issue 2 Pages 174-180

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Abstract

【Background】The immune status of the people to rubella is affected both by vaccination policies and nationwide epidemics. In Japan, mass rubella vaccination was started in 1977 to junior-high school girls. Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccination to young children was carried out from April 1989 to April 1993. In 1995, regular rubella vaccination to children was started together with interim individual vaccination to 12- to 15-year-olds of both sexes for 6.5 years. Meanwhile, nationwide rubella epidemics broke out mainly at primary schools in five times:1965-1968, 1976-1977, 1982, 1987-1988, and 1992-1993.In this study, we used rubella antibody data generated at a big diagnostic laboratory to which specimens gather from all over Japan,and investigated whether the results explain the history of changes in the vaccination policies and the natural epidemics in Japan.
【Methods】A total of 672,531 data (male 87,429 and female 585,102) on rubella hemagglutination inhibiting (HI) antibody titers were used for analysis. The data were from the sera with no specific clinical department names (which may contain specimens from healthy individuals for determining rubella immune status). The serum specimens were collected from 19- to 60-year-olds during an eight-year period of October 2010 to September 2018. The “approximate” antibody prevalence rates and mean antibody titers of eight consecutive age groups of each birth cohort of Japanese fiscal year (FY:April to next yearʼs March), were calculated according to F. Ban et al (J Japan Assoc Infect Dis. 2019;93:1-11).
【Results】We depicted graphs both for the antibody prevalence rates and mean antibody titers by birth cohort and age, using 5-age moving averages. From these graphs the following findings were obtained. 1) Mass vaccination to junior-high school girls:The antibody prevalence rose from the FY1961 birth cohorts (about 90%) to the vaccinated FY1993 birth cohorts (about 95%). 2) Individual vaccination to male teens:The antibody prevalence increased to about 85% in the FY1980 birth cohorts and reached about 90% in the FY1982 birth cohort. 3)Effects of nationwide epidemics:The mean antibody titers of the FY1985 birth cohorts who experienced the last nationwide epidemics at primary schools in 1992-1993 were about 2 5.4 , but those of the FY1988 birth cohorts who had received MMR vaccination but not experienced the epidemic were about 2 4.7 .
【Conclusions】We think that the analysis of the data from the commercial diagnostic laboratory explains well the rubella epidemiology during the past 60 years in Japan, and is useful for the future rubella control policies for the country.

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© 2020 The Japansese Association for Infectious Diseases
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