Measles, mumps vaccine may reduce risk of nontargeted infections, JAMA study shows

Children receiving timely inoculations with the live measles, mumps and rubella vaccine were less likely to develop other types of infections that led to hospitalization, according to a study.

Published online Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study tracked more than 495,000 Danish children born between 1997 and 2006 up to age 2. Researchers found children who received vaccine shots for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenza type b at 3, 5 and 12 months and then got an MMR shot at 15 months reduced their risk of developing an infection that would lead to hospitalization.

In children where MMR was the last vaccine received, the rate of admission because of infection was 8.9 per 100, according to the study, while those who got the DTaP-IPV-HiB vaccine as their last vaccine had a hospitalization rate of 12.4 per 100.

Rates of developing lower respiratory tract infections were especially affected by proper adherence to immunizations, the study found. But the positive result came only when children were vaccinated on time and in the proper sequence, the study also found. Children who received DTaP-IPV-HiB vaccine after getting a MMR shot had a higher rate of hospitalization from infection.

While the MMR vaccine has been shown to lower incidents of mortality from causes other than measles in low-income countries, this study highlights the benefit of improving vaccination coverage within wealthier nations, where researchers estimated only half of children get their shots on time.

“Physicians should encourage parents to have children vaccinated on time with MMR and avoid giving vaccinations out of sequence,” study authors wrote.

Follow Steven Ross Johnson on Twitter: @MHSjohnson