Rapid serological screening of human sera for the presence of measles virus antibodies in solid-phase immunoenzyme analysis

A single dilution technique has been used for the determination of antimeasles antibody titer. The method involved the plotting of the calibration curve and the characterization of the serum by arbitrary "evaluation units" in comparison with the specially selected positive serum whose titer was taken to be equal to 100 "evaluation units". By means of this method 57 sera obtained from children immunized against measles and 118 sera from non-vaccinated adults aged 18-22 years were examined. The values of the calculated titers were similar to those determined experimentally. This recommends this method for seroepidemiological investigations aimed at determining the level of herd immunity to measles.     

The measles virus

Summary Measles is one of widely spread virus infections that is a major cause of deaths in some tropical areas. The measles virus is a member of the genus of Morbillivirus of the family of Paramyxoviridae. The virions contain six polypeptides, including one glycoprotein; two of them are surface proteins that possess hemagglutinating and hemolytic activities, one of them is polymerase. Replication of the measles virus is similar to that of other Paramyxoviruses. Besides the acute infection for measles virus a persistent infection is characteristic that affects central nervous system and inner organs. Molecular mechanisms of it were studied and the results are discussed to explain the pathogenesis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, systemic lupus erythematosus and other diseasis in which measles or measles-like virus may be involved.