School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
J Travel Med. 2024 Jan 28;31(1). doi: 10.1093/jtm/taae004.
Vaccine-preventable infections are generally well controlled in Australia. However, gaps in immunity can lead to outbreaks and are important to identify. Young adults are a highly mobile population and a potential source of imported infections. We aimed to evaluate anti- measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMR&V) IgG seroprevalence and explore factors relating to antibody seropositivity.
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among students from a large Australian university to collect demographic, vaccination, infection and travel characteristics. Blood samples were collected to measure MMR&V seroprevalence. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with seropositivity.
Among 804 university students, seroprevalence (positive or equivocal) for measles was 82.3% (95% CI 79.6-84.8%), mumps 79.5% (95% CI 76.7-82.3%), rubella 91.5% (95% CI 89.6-93.5%) and varicella 86.2% (95% CI 84.1-88.8%), with 452 (56.2%, 95% CI 52.8-59.6) seropositive to all four viruses. Varicella seropositivity was highest in the older birth cohort (born 1988-1991). Measles seropositivity was higher for international students compared to domestic students. Among international students, mumps seroprevalence was significantly lower than measles and rubella seroprevalence. International travel in the previous 12 months was reported by 63.1% of students, but only 18.2% of travellers reported seeking pre-travel health advice prior to most recent international travel.
Overall, this study suggests immunity to MMR&V is sub-optimal. We found the university student population to be highly mobile and unlikely to seek pre-travel advice; thus, they are a potential source of infection importation. The implementation of university immunization policies could address the gaps identified and our findings can inform the development of targeted vaccination campaigns.
在澳大利亚，疫苗可预防的感染通常得到很好的控制。然而，免疫缺陷会导致疫情爆发，因此识别这些缺陷很重要。年轻人是一个流动性很强的群体，也是输入性感染的潜在来源。我们旨在评估麻疹、腮腺炎、风疹和水痘（MMR&V）IgG 血清阳性率，并探讨与抗体血清阳性相关的因素。
对澳大利亚一所大型大学的学生进行了一项横断面在线调查，以收集人口统计学、疫苗接种、感染和旅行特征。采集血样以测量 MMR&V 血清阳性率。采用 logistic 回归分析确定与血清阳性相关的因素。
在 804 名大学生中，麻疹血清阳性率（阳性或可疑）为 82.3%（95%CI 79.6-84.8%），腮腺炎为 79.5%（95%CI 76.7-82.3%），风疹为 91.5%（95%CI 89.6-93.5%），水痘为 86.2%（95%CI 84.1-88.8%），其中 452 名（56.2%，95%CI 52.8-59.6%）对所有四种病毒均呈血清阳性。出生于 1988-1991 年的较年长的出生队列水痘血清阳性率最高。与国内学生相比，国际学生麻疹血清阳性率更高。在国际学生中，腮腺炎血清阳性率明显低于麻疹和风疹血清阳性率。在过去 12 个月内，63.1%的学生报告了国际旅行，但只有 18.2%的旅行者在最近一次国际旅行前报告了寻求旅行前健康咨询。
总体而言，这项研究表明 MMR&V 的免疫效果不理想。我们发现大学生群体流动性很强，不太可能寻求旅行前咨询；因此，他们是感染输入的潜在来源。实施大学免疫政策可以解决发现的差距，我们的研究结果可以为有针对性的疫苗接种活动提供信息。
