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Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association
International Journal of Epidemiology 2010;39:i48i55
The Author 2010; all rights reserved.
doi:10.1093/ije/dyq021

Effectiveness of measles vaccination and

vitamin A treatment
Christopher R Sudfeld,1 Ann Marie Navar1,2 and Neal A Halsey1
1

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of International Health, Baltimore, MD, USA, 2Duke University
School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.


Corresponding author. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of International Health, 615 North Wolfe
St. Rm W5041, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. E-mail: csudfeld@jhsph.edu

Methods

We conducted a systematic review of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental (QE) studies in order
to determine effect estimates of measles vaccine and vitamin
A treatment for the Lives Saved Tool (LiST). We utilized a standardized abstraction and grading format in order to determine effect
estimates for measles mortality employing the standard Child
Health Epidemiology Research Group Rules for Evidence Review.

Results

We identified three measles vaccine RCTs and two QE studies with

data on prevention of measles disease. A meta-analysis of these
studies found that vaccination was 85% [95% confidence interval
(CI) 8387] effective in preventing measles disease, which will be
used as a proxy for measles mortality in LiST for countries vaccinating before one year of age. The literature also suggests that a
conservative 95% effect estimate is reasonable to employ when vaccinating at 1 year or later and 98% for two doses of vaccine based
on serology reviews. We included six high-quality RCTs in the
meta-analysis of vitamin A treatment of measles which found no
significant reduction in measles morality. However, when stratifying by vitamin A treatment dose, at least two doses were found to
reduce measles mortality by 62% (95% CI 1982).

Conclusion Measles vaccine and vitamin A treatment are effective interventions

to prevent measles mortality in children.
Keywords

Measles, vaccine, vitamin A, treatment

instituted a multi-component strategy in 47 priority

countries with high measles burden including: reaching and maintaining 590% coverage for first dose
measles vaccine by 12 months of age, providing
appropriate clinical management including vitamin
A treatment, enhancing effective measles surveillance,

Background
In 2005, the World Health Assembly set a goal of a
90% reduction in measles mortality by 2010 compared
with 2000 levels as a part of the Global Immunization
Vision and Strategy (GIVS).1 WHO and UNICEF have
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Background The current strategy utilized by WHO/United Nations Childrens

Fund (UNICEF) to reach the Global Immunization Vision and
Strategy 2010 measles reduction goal includes increasing coverage
of measles vaccine, vitamin A treatment and supplementation in
addition to offering two doses of vaccine to all children.

EFFECTIVENESS OF MEASLES VACCINATION AND VITAMIN A TREATMENT

Methods
We systematically reviewed all published literature
from 19602008 to identify studies of measles vaccine
and vitamin A treatment. As per the Child Health
Epidemiology Research Group (CHERG) systematic
review guidelines, PubMed, Cochrane Libraries, and
all WHO Regional Databases were searched in all

languages.15 The search terms for measles vaccine

studies included combinations of measles vaccine,
trial, effect , effica , mortality, and non-specific.
The vitamin A treatment search terms included: vitamin A, trial, effect , effica , mortality and measles. Studies abstracted for analysis included
randomized controlled trials (RCT) and quasi-experimental (QE) studies due to a priori knowledge of
these high-quality studies. Observational studies
were included in the all-cause mortality analysis for
measles vaccine due to minimal data from RCTs or
QE studies. Three studies reported data for two distinct study cohorts using different methods; therefore
we chose to analyse the cohorts separately and when
referencing these studies denote cohort a and b.16
18
If two or more studies presented data for the same
population during the same time period, the most
applicable study based on methods and analysis was
included in the meta-analyses. Studies using hightitre measles vaccine were excluded as this vaccine
was associated with increased mortality in girls.19
All studies which met final inclusion and exclusion criteria were double data abstracted into a
standardized form for each outcome of interest.15
We abstracted key variables with regard to the study
identifiers and context, study design and limitations, intervention specifics, and outcome effects.
Each study was assessed and graded according to
the CHERG adaptation of the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation
(GRADE) technique.20 Randomized or cluster randomized trials received an initial score of high. The
grade was decreased one grade for each study
design limitation. In addition, studies reporting an
intent-to-treat analysis or with statistically significant
strong levels of association (480% reduction) received
12 grade increases. Any study with a final grade of
very low was excluded.
For any outcome with more than one study, we
conducted a meta-analysis and reported the Mantel
Haenszel pooled relative risk (RR) and corresponding
95% confidence interval (CI). When there was heterogeneity, the DerSimonianLaird pooled RR and corresponding 95% CI were reported. If zero events
occurred in a treatment group, 0.5 was added to
both the treated and untreated event total in order
to compute a 95% CI and corresponding P-value. In
the meta-analysis of studies with data on the effect of
measles vaccine on measles mortality, there were no
deaths among the vaccinated; therefore, we chose not
to compute an effect estimate with confidence intervals since our method to account for zero events
would significantly lower the effect estimate. Results
are expressed in terms of relative benefit (1 RR),
which is more commonly defined as efficacy or effectiveness. All analyses were conducted using STATA 10
SE statistical software.
We summarized the evidence by intervention and
outcome including a qualitative assessment of the

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and monitoring vaccination coverage.2 In addition,

the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on
Immunization recently put forth a global recommendation that all children should receive 2 doses of
measles vaccine.3 Maintaining high vaccination coverage is also central to measles control efforts in countries with relatively low measles burden, and many of
these countries will need to increase coverage in order
to reach measles elimination goals.
The effectiveness of measles vaccination is based on
several host and vaccine factors.4 The most important
factors are age at vaccination and receipt of a second
dose.5 WHO recommends first dose measles vaccination at 9 months of age in many developing countries
with a high risk of measles morbidity and mortality
during the first year of life.6 Since 2000, the WHO has
also recommended that all children receive a second
opportunity for measles vaccination.2 Most developed
countries with low levels of measles transmission
vaccinate at 1 year of age or later to minimize the
risk of maternal antibody interference, and many
have implemented a two-dose schedule. Therefore,
the effectiveness of measles vaccine to prevent
measles mortality is not uniform worldwide and will
vary based on vaccine schedule recommendations
and programme implementation strategies. The
WHO also recommends vitamin A treatment of measles consisting of two doses of 50 000 IU for infants
<6 months of age, 100 000 IU for those 6 months to
1 year of age, and 200 000 IU for individuals 41 year
of age.7 Routine vitamin A supplementation is
also thought to decrease measles case fatality in
addition to likely reducing mortality from multiple
factors, including diarrhoea.8 The comprehensive
Lives Saved Tool (LiST) review of vitamin A supplementation on multiple causes of death determined
supplementation decreased measles-specific mortality
by 19%.9
Multiple reviews of measles vaccine and vitamin
A treatment effectiveness have been published.1013
However, most measles vaccine reviews have employed serologic data to determine effect estimates for
measles-specific mortality. The most recent Cochrane
review for vitamin A treatment of children with measles erroneously includes a supplementation trial;
therefore, we have revised the analysis excluding
this trial.13,14 Here, we present our systematic review
of measles vaccine and vitamin A treatment in order
to determine effect estimates and corresponding
uncertainty for the LiST.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY

study quality and quantitative measures according to

standard guidelines15 for each outcome. The CHERG
Rules for Evidence Review20 were applied to the collective measles vaccine and vitamin A treatment data
to generate estimates for the effect on measles
mortality.

Results

Figure 1 Forest plot for the effect of one dose measles

vaccine on measles disease (vaccinated compared with
unvaccinated). Heterogeneity 2 3.59 (df 4); P 0.464.
I2 (variation in RR attributable to heterogeneity) 0.0%.
Test of RR 1: z 26.34; P < 0.01

Table 1 Quality of evidence assessment for measles vaccine

Quality assessment

Summary of findings
Directness

No. of
studies
(ref.)

Design

Limitations

Consistency

No of events
Relative
benefita
(95% CI)

Generalizability
to population
of interest

Generalizability
to intervention
of interest

No studies
in Asia
(0.5)

Generalizable

14

Generalizable

Generalizable

297

164

43% (2954)b

Generalizable

Generalizable

203

2238

85% (8387)c

Intervention

Control

Measles Mortality: high outcome-specific quality

3 (16a,
16b, 21)

2 RCT
1 QE

None

NA

100% (NC)

All-cause Mortality: low outcome-specific quality

14 (16b,
2527,
3133, 3541)

1
8
2
3

RCT
PC
RC
CC

None

Heterogeneity
(0.5)

Measles Disease: high outcome-specific quality

5 (16a,
18a, 21,
42, 45)

3 RCT
2 QE

None

No Heterogeneity

NC, not calculated.

a
Relative benefit is 1 RR.
b
Calculated with DerSimonianLaird method.
c
Calculated with MantelHaenszel method.

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We identified 3179 titles from searches in all databases for measles vaccine. After screening, we
included three studies with measles-specific mortality
data,16a,16b,21 23 studies of all-cause mortality,16b,17,2241 and nine studies which reported measles
disease as an outcome16a,16b,18,21,4245 in the final
database (Supplementary Table 1). In Table 1, we
report the quality assessment of measles vaccine studies by outcome, as well as results from corresponding meta-analyses. In the two RCTs and one QE study
with measles specific mortality, no measles deaths
occurred in the vaccinated.16a,16b,21 Next, we included
studies that attempted to control for confounding in
our meta-analysis for the effect of measles vaccine on
all-cause mortality. Thirteen observational studies25
27,3133,37,3941
and one RCT16b met these requirements
and the results indicate that measles vaccine was
associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality of
43% (2954). Four studies in the original database
were excluded from the meta-analysis of vaccination
effect on measles disease: an RCT which noted
differential misclassification of measles disease by

vaccination status, an RCT that administered

immunoglobulin to children in contact with measles,
a QE study where a proportion of measles vaccine
administered was not potent due to improper storage,
and a QE study which did not publish the number of
trial participants or confidence interval.16b,43,44,18b The
five remaining studies, three RCTs and two QE studies, found that a single dose of measles vaccine
reduced measles disease by 85% (95% CI 8387)
(Figure 1).16a,21,42,18a,45
A total of 270 titles were identified for evaluation of
vitamin A treatment. We included seven studies, six
RCTs and one QE, in the final database for vitamin A
treatment of measles4652 (Supplementary Table 2).
The Ellison study was excluded from meta-analyses

EFFECTIVENESS OF MEASLES VACCINATION AND VITAMIN A TREATMENT

i51

Table 2 Quality of evidence assessment for vitamin A treatment for measles

Quality assessment

Summary of findings
Directness

No. of
studies
(ref.)

Design

Limitations

Consistency

Generalizability
to population
of interest

Generalizability
to intervention
of interest

Only African
studies
(0.5)

Different doses
of vitamin A
(0.5)

No of events

Intervention

Control

Relative
benefita
(95% CI)

19

33

37% (8 to 63)b

Measles Mortality: moderate outcome specific quality

5 (4651)

RCT

None

No heterogeneity

Measles mortality (At least two doses of 200 000 IU for children and 100 000 IU for infants): moderate outcome specific quality
3 (4648)

RCT

<50 events (0.5)c

No heterogeneity

Only African
studies (0.5)

Generalizable

23

62% (19 to 82)b

NC, not calculated.

a
Relative benefit is 1 RR.
b
Calculated with MantelHaenszel method
c
Deduction to account for Rule 0 of CHERG Rules for Evidence Review.

due to lack of randomization and the use of a smaller

dose of vitamin A (3000 IU) compared with the
RCTs.52 A meta-analysis of the six high-quality RCTs
found no significant reduction in measles mortality
[RR 0.63; 95% CI (0.371.08)] (Table 2).4651
However, when stratifying the analysis by vitamin A
treatment dose, at least two doses of 200 000 IU for
children 41 year and 100 000 IU for infants, treatment
was found to reduce measles mortality (RR 0.38; 95%
CI 0.180.81) (Figure 2).4648

Discussion
The WHO estimated that 750 000 measles deaths
occurred worldwide in 2000 and decreased to
197 000 in 2007.53 This substantial reduction is largely
due to intense efforts from WHO/UNICEF and other
programmes to provide vitamin A supplementation

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Figure 2 Forest plot for the effect of vitamin A treatment

on measles mortality for at least two doses of 200 000 IU for
children and 100 000 IU for infants (treated vs untreated).
Heterogeneity 2 1.05 (df 2); P 0.592. I2 (variation in
RR attributable to heterogeneity) 0.0%. Test of RR 1:
z 2.50; P 0.01

and treatment as well as increase coverage of

measles vaccine including offering a second opportunity for vaccination in countries with a high measles
burden.
Live attenuated measles vaccine was first introduced
in the United States and many developed countries
during the 1960s; licensure was based on prevention of measles disease and immunologic correlates of immunity as the primary outcomes.5456
Our systematic review identified three RCTs identifying measles-specific mortality as an endpoint. Only
14 measles deaths occurred in the three trials combined (all in the unvaccinated group) and following
the CHERG Rules for Evidence Review, we were
not able to determine a direct effect estimate.57
Observational studies, in addition to RCTs, were
included in the all-cause mortality analysis to address
the hypothesis that measles vaccine has an effect on
non-measles mortality.58 Our meta-analysis found
that measles vaccine reduced all cause mortality by
43% (2954), but the quality of evidence is graded
low per CHERG rules due to a majority of data arising
from observational studies, which are prone to survival bias and possibly other forms of unrecognized
bias. Due to inconclusive evidence for a non-specific
effect of measles vaccine on all cause mortality, this
assessment will not be included in this edition of
LiST. We included three RCTs and two QE studies
in the meta-analysis of vaccination effect on measles
disease. These studies found that measles vaccine
reduced measles disease by 85% (95% CI 8387) and
per Rule 7, this effect size will be used in the LiST
tool as a proxy for prevention of measles mortality.
Numerous methodologically sound observational
studies have also been published with data on the
effectiveness of measles vaccine; however, per LiST
rules these studies are graded as low and are

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY

The effect of a second dose of measles vaccine

on measles disease or mortality compared with no
vaccination has not been evaluated on individual
children in prospective randomized studies as this
type of trial would be unethical. Therefore, the best
estimate of the effect of a two-dose measles vaccine
schedule on measles mortality must be extrapolated
from serology data, studies looking at effectiveness
of two dose vs one-dose measles vaccination, and
observational studies. Caution should be taken when
using serology data to estimate the impact on mortality. A recent WHO review of serology studies determined that a median 97% [inter-quartile range (IQR)
87100%] of children that failed to seroconvert to first
dose measles vaccine developed immunity after a
second dose.64 If 85% efficacy is assumed for single
dose measles vaccine, these serology results would
correlate to an efficacy of 99.6% for two dose measles
vaccine with a range of 98.1100% based on the IQR
of the review. In addition, the effectiveness of two
doses of measles vaccine will vary by setting based
on the age of vaccination. Epidemiologic studies comparing the effectiveness of early two dose vaccination
vs single dose have found varying results in developing country settings; a study in Niger found two doses
(first dose at 68 months and second at 9 months)
was 23% less effective than single dose whereas studies in India (first dose at 912 months and second at
1518 months) and Guinea Bissau (first dose at 68
months and second at 912 months) determined two
doses of vaccine were respectively 83 and 90% more
effective than one dose of measles vaccine.6669 In
order to produce a conservative estimate of the efficacy of two dose measles vaccine per LiST rules, we
felt an input of 98% based on the lower quartile of the
WHO two dose measles vaccine serology review was
reasonable.
Vitamin A deficiency is a recognized risk factor
for severe measles and since 1987 the WHO and
UNICEF have recommended vitamin A treatment
of children with measles.70 We performed a
meta-analysis of six vitamin A treatment RCTs
with measles-specific mortality data and found no
significant reduction in measles morality [RR 0.63;
95% CI (0.371.08)]. However, when stratifying the
analysis by vitamin A treatment dose, at least two
doses of 200 000 IU for children 51 year of age and
100 000 IU for infants was found to reduce measles
mortality by 62% [RR 0.38; 95% CI (0.180.81)].
These results support the current recommendation
that two doses of vitamin A be offered to children
with measles.7 An exception to Rule 0 (at least
50 deaths needed) was deemed appropriate with
support of CHERG due to the high quality evidence
from three RCTs. As a result, a 62% effect estimate
with corresponding uncertainty will be used in the
LiST tool.

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considered weaker sources of evidence in comparison

to RCTs. Furthermore, a pooled estimate of wellconducted observational studies would likely underestimate the true efficacy of measles vaccine. A substantial proportion of published observational studies were
conducted during measles outbreaks which can occur
as a result of decreased vaccine efficacy attributable
to improper vaccine storage or vaccination of children
before recommended age.5
Our effect estimate is consistent with the Cutts
serology review which estimated seroconversion
rates of 85% when vaccine is administered prior
to one year and the Singh review which estimated
effectiveness of 8590% based on feasibility studies
conducted in India.10,11 Our effect findings and corresponding uncertainty are applicable to real world
vaccine programmes in developing countries as
children are vaccinated at a wide range of ages.
The studies included in our analysis vaccinated
children between 6 months and 5 years. However,
this estimate is likely conservative for the effect of
vaccination on measles mortality since several studies
have documented that previously vaccinated children
who develop measles have reduced rates of complications compared with unvaccinated children.5961 None
of the trials in our meta-analysis specifically address
current vaccination programmes in developed countries, where the recommended age of vaccination is
usually at 512 months of age. Measles vaccine
is more effective when administered to older children
as maternal antibodies that can interfere with development of immunity are usually absent.62 The WHO
SAGE recently recommended that countries with low
levels of measles transmission increase the age at
administration of the first dose of vaccine from 9 to
12 months in addition to providing a routine second
dose during the second year of life.3 Approximately,
95% of individuals seroconvert when measles vaccine
is administered at one year of age or older.63,64
Therefore, if the LiST tool is used to estimate measles
mortality effect in countries vaccinating at one year
or greater, the user may want to increase the effect
estimate for measles vaccine. In addition, we chose
not to include herd immunity in the default LiST estimates for single dose vaccine. The reproductive
number (R0) for measles is 1520 and 495% of a population is needed to be immune in order to stop endemic transmission.65 Furthermore, these immune
individuals will have to be equally dispersed in the
population, an assumption we are not willing to
make especially since most developing countries
have not reached 490% coverage. However, LiST
users have the capacity to adjust the effectiveness of
measles vaccination by coverage level, and we support
users adjusting country specific effect estimates to
100% if strong surveillance data indicate no measles
transmission.

EFFECTIVENESS OF MEASLES VACCINATION AND VITAMIN A TREATMENT

Intervention
Measles Vaccine
***High quality evidence of
morbidity reduction:
Highly Plausible Effect

Outcome Measures

Application of Rules

Measles Mortality
3 Studies; 14 events
Relative Benefit of 91% (95% CI: 50 to 98)
All Cause Mortality
3 Studies; 461 events
Relative Benefit of 43% (95% CI: 29 to 54)
Measles Disease
6 Studies; 2441 events
Relative Benefit of 85% (95% CI: 83 to 87)

Vitamin A Treatment
***High quality evidence of
measles mortality reduction:
Highly Plausible Effect

Measles Mortality-Studies using 2 doses

3 Studies; 31 events
Relative Benefit of 62% (95% CI: 19 to 82)

Rule 1: APPLY
(With exception for Rule 0)

Application of standard rules to measles interventions for LiST

Supplementary data
Supplementary data are available at IJE online.
9

Funding
US Fund for UNICEF from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation [Grant 43386].

10

Conflict of interest: None declared.

11

References

12

Rule 7: APPLY

No Significant Effect

Low Quality

Measles Mortality All Studies

5 Studies; 52 events
Relative Benefit of 37% (95% CI: -8 to 63)

The results of our review, which are the default

effectiveness values included in LiST, are summarized
in Figure 3. Our results support the current strategy
of WHO/UNICEF to reduce measles mortality
in priority countries, which includes increasing coverage of measles vaccine and vitamin A in addition
to offering a second opportunity for vaccination to
all children. The GIVS 2010 goals for measles seem
to be within reach and hopefully with offering two
dose measles vaccine in the South-East Asian region
a 90% reduction in measles mortality will be
accomplished.

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