Transmission of Attenuated Rubella Vaccines to the Human Fetus:  A Preliminary Report

THE CURRENT candidate strains of attenuated rubella vaccines have proved capable of eliciting a demonstrable antibody response. At their present level of attenuation all the strains are known to cause viremia and virus shedding from the respiratory tract, although no transmission of the vaccine virus to susceptible contacts has been demonstrated with certainty. In addition to the potential communicability of attenuated rubella virus from a vaccinee to a pregnant mother, the danger exists of accidental vaccination during pregnancy. This has prompted our studies on the transplacental passage of attenuated rubella vaccines in humans.

Materials and Methods  The general scheme of the study is shown in Table 1 and the Figure. The vaccinees were patients from the department of obstetrics and gynecology, University of Helsinki or The State Institute of Midwifery, Helsinki. As of January 1969, 32 patients have received by subcutaneous inoculation (1 ml) either HPV-77-DK12 (dog kidney grown) rubella