A new approach to the definition of seroconversion following vaccination in a population with high background antibody concentrations

Vaccine. 2007 Sep 3:25 Suppl 1:A58-62. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2007.04.042. Epub 2007 May 11.

Abstract

Licensure of meningitis vaccines is increasingly being made on the basis of safety and immunogenicity. For meningococcal vaccines, a measure of immunogenicity is seroconversion, usually defined as a four-fold increase in rSBA titre. However, this definition is likely to underestimate seroconversion in settings with high background immunity. Using data from a study of the immunogenicity of meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines undertaken in Ghana, a logistic regression model to estimate the probability of seroconversion as a function of pre-vaccination titre has been developed. The seroconversion rate (91%) based on a variable-fold increase in rSBA titre derived from the model was a more plausible estimate of immunogenicity than the seroconversion rate (32%) based on the fixed four-fold increase in rSBA.

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood*
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / immunology
  • Ghana
  • Humans
  • Logistic Models
  • Meningitis, Meningococcal / immunology
  • Meningitis, Meningococcal / prevention & control
  • Meningococcal Vaccines / administration & dosage
  • Meningococcal Vaccines / immunology*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Vaccination / methods
  • Vaccination / standards

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Meningococcal Vaccines