Development and Persistence of Class-Specific Antibodies in the Serum and Nasopharyngeal Washings of Rubella Vaccinees

Abstract

Serial samples of serum and nasopharyngeal washings were obtained from 43 volunteers given one of four rubella vaccines (HPV77.DE5, RA27/3, To-336, and Cendehill) and from nine naturally infected volunteers. Rubella-specific serum IgG was detected by radioimmunoassay for up to 12 years in all but one vaccinee, and booster responses occurred in 23.3% of vaccinees. Rubella-specific serum IgA was detected in 37 (90.2%) of 41 vaccinees one year after vaccination but in only five (45.5%) of 11 vaccinees tested 10-12 years after vaccination. Low levels of rubella-specific IgM detected by M-antibody capture radioimmunoassay persisted in seven volunteers--four of them HPV77.DE5 vaccinees--four more than one year after vaccination. Rubella-specific nasopharyngeal IgA was detected for up to five years after natural infection or vaccination with RA27/3 but for no longer than three years among Cendehill, HPV77.DE5, and To-336 vaccinees. Nasopharyngeal IgG antibodies were detected less frequently and at lower levels.