Triple vaccine ‘overdue’

Press, 8 December 1988, Page 33

Triple vaccine ‘overdue’

PA Wellington Congenital rubella, measles and mumps could be almost eliminated from New Zealand by a new vaccine likely to be introduced here next year, according to “Family Physician” magazine.

An editorial in the latest issue by the Lower Hutt general practitioner and chairman of the Communicable Disease Control Advisory Committee, Dr Stewart Reid, says the introduction of a measles, mumps, rubella vaccine is long overdue. The vaccine has been used in the United States and Canada since the

19605, in Scandinavia since the early 1980 s, and was introduced in Britain this year.

The Communicable Disease Control Advisory Committee and the Health Department have recommended the vaccine replace the measles vaccine given infants at 15 months and this change should take place next year. Until 1979, all children were offered rubella vaccine when they started school but this was stopped because of concern about giving an unnecessary vaccine to boys and because not enough of the target population was being reached.

It was replaced with a selective strategy where girls, aged 11 were offered immunisation, and women of child-bearing age and those in early pregnancy were screened and offered immunisation if susceptible. The selective strategy has had some success with up to 98 per cent of Form 1 schoolgirls being immunised, but two or three cases of congenital rubella still occur each year.

Dr Reid says introduction of MMR at 15 months will add to the present rubella strategy by reducing the prevalence of rubella in the community at

large and reducing the likelihood that susceptible women will contract rubella during pregnancy.The introduction of the mumps vaccine, though less important, is also desirable.

Since its introduction in the United States it has caused a steady drop in incidence of the disease, which is one of the commonest causes of viral meningitis and may cause nerve deafness, inflammation of the testicles and occasionally sterility. “The challenge then for general practice will be to eliminate congenital rubella from New Zealand.