[Studies on rubella vaccination in adult females. I: Clinical and laboratory studies on clinical reactions].

More than 1,000 young females were screened for rubella HI antibodies. Clinico-laboratory studies were carried out in 272 seronegative healthy adult women who received Japanese licensed rubella vaccine, TO-336 or MEQ11 vaccine. Clinical reactions were observed in 51 (29.7%) of 172 vaccinees, aged 18-30 years (mean age; 20. 8 year), who received TO-336 vaccine, whereas only 4 cases (4.0%) had clinical reactions in 100 vaccinees, aged 18-26 years (mean age; 19.1 year), who received MEQ11 vaccine. The most troublesome and common clinical reaction was arthralgia, particularly in women received TO-336 vaccine. Joint symptoms, especially the knee, hand and finger joint, were observed in 41 of 51 cases with clinical reactions after TO-336 vaccination. On the other hand, vaccinees who received TO-336 vaccine gave a more satisfactory seroconversion response than vaccinees who received MEQ11 vaccine (100% vs 97%). This difference was also reflected in the geometric mean titers (1: 58 vs 1: 31). These results suggested strongly that MEQ11 vaccine might be a more attenuated rubella vaccine than TO-336 vaccine, according to the clinical reactions and antibody response. Associations of host factors to clinical reactions were examined. There was not a significant difference of antibody response between vaccinees who developed clinical reactions and those who did not. But vaccinees with HLA-B 15 responded well and high against two rubella vaccines. There was no specific association between HLA types and clinical reactions.