Safety and immunogenicity of live attenuated varicella vaccine in 9-month-old children

BACKGROUND: The present study was conducted to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of live attenuated varicella vaccine (Oka-strain) in 9-month-old infants. METHODS: One hundred and fourteen infants were vaccinated once with live attenuated varicella vaccine (Valrix; SmithKline Beecham Biologicals, Rixensart, Belgium) containing a mean virus titer of 10(4.0) plaque-forming units (p.f.u.) per dose. Signs and/or symptoms after vaccination were followed for 42 days. Home visits were made to detect solicited local reactions (0-3 days) and solicited general reactions (0-21 days), as well as unsolicited reactions. Specific varicella antibodies were determined by an indirect immunofluorescence method. The geometric mean titer and seroconversion rate were calculated. RESULTS: Signs and/or symptoms were reported in 47.4% (54/114) of cases following vaccination. The only local symptom reported was pain on digital pressure at the injection site and this was reported in 28.1% (32/114) of infants. General symptoms were reported in 38.6% (44/114) of cases. The most frequently reported findings were fever (27.2%), which was mostly mild, restlessness (20.2%) and cough (11.4%). Only four unsolicited symptoms were reported and they were all unrelated to vaccination. No serious adverse event was reported. Of the 109 infants included in the immunogenicity analysis, 105 were seronegative and four were seropositive for antibodies against varicella before vaccination. The vaccine elicited seroconversion in 97.1% of initially seronegative cases. The post-vaccination geometric mean titer for these infants was 30.9 geometric mean titer (GMT). CONCLUSIONS: The vaccine was found to be safe and immunogenic when given to infants as young as 9 months of age. This may be of clinical significance during outbreaks of varicella and especially for developing countries.