A Cross-Sectional Study of Measles-Specific Antibody Levels in Australian Blood Donors—Implications for Measles Post-Elimination Countries

Kirsten Williamson; Helen Faddy; Suellen Nicholson; Vicki Stambos; Veronica C Hoad; Michelle Butler; Tambri Housen; Tony Merritt; David N Durrheim

doi:10.3390/vaccines12070818

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A Cross-Sectional Study of Measles-Specific Antibody Levels in Australian Blood Donors—Implications for Measles Post-Elimination Countries

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A Cross-Sectional Study of Measles-Specific Antibody Levels in Australian Blood Donors—Implications for Measles Post-Elimination Countries

Kirsten Williamson, Helen Faddy, Suellen Nicholson, Vicki Stambos, Veronica C Hoad, Michelle Butler, Tambri Housen, Tony Merritt and David N Durrheim

Vaccines, Vol.12(7), pp.1-17

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12070818

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Abstract

measles

antibody

immunity

immunoglobulin

IgG

donor

NHIG

Passive immunisation with normal human immunoglobulin (NHIG) is recommended as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for higher-risk measles contacts where vaccination is contraindicated. However, the concentration of measles-specific antibodies in NHIG depends on antibody levels within pooled donor plasma. There are concerns that measles immunity in the Australian population may be declining over time and that blood donors’ levels will progressively decrease, impacting levels required to produce effective NHIG for measles PEP. A cross-sectional study of Australian plasmapheresis donors was performed using an age-stratified, random sample of recovered serum specimens, collected between October and November 2019 (n = 1199). Measles-specific IgG antibodies were quantified by ELISA (Enzygnost anti-measles virus IgG, Siemens), and negative and equivocal specimens (n = 149) also underwent plaque reduction neutralisation testing (PRNT). Mean antibody levels (optical density values) progressively decreased from older to younger birth cohorts, from 2.09 [±0.09, 95% CI] to 0.58 [±0.04, 95% CI] in donors born in 1940–1959 and 1990–2001, respectively (p < 0.0001). This study shows that mean measles-specific IgG levels are significantly lower in younger Australian donors. While current NHIG selection policies target older donors, as younger birth cohorts become an increasingly larger proportion of contributing donors, measles-specific antibody concentrations of NHIG will progressively reduce. We therefore recommend monitoring measles-specific antibody levels in future donors and NHIG products in Australia and other countries that eliminated measles before the birth of their youngest blood donors.

Details

Title: A Cross-Sectional Study of Measles-Specific Antibody Levels in Australian Blood Donors—Implications for Measles Post-Elimination Countries
Authors: Kirsten Williamson (Corresponding Author) - Hunter New England Local Health District
Helen Faddy - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Biomedicine
Suellen Nicholson - Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory
Vicki Stambos - Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory
Veronica C Hoad - Australian Red Cross Blood Service
Michelle Butler - Hunter New England Local Health District
Tambri Housen - Australian National University
Tony Merritt - Hunter New England Local Health District
David N Durrheim - University of Newcastle Australia
Publication details: Vaccines, Vol.12(7), pp.1-17
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2024
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12070818
ISSN: 2076-393X
Copyright note: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Data Availability: Data may be made available through the corresponding authors to qualified and interested investigators upon reasonable request.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Biomedicine
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991048097002621
Output Type: Journal article

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