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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1505489

Seroprevalence of Measles Antibody among Immigrants in Gwangju, South Korea

Provisionally accepted
Ran Lee Ran Lee 1,2Sarah Kim Sarah Kim 3Hyerin Na Hyerin Na 1Jang Gwon Yoon Jang Gwon Yoon 1,4A Ram Park A Ram Park 1So Hyun Bae So Hyun Bae 1So Yeong Park So Yeong Park 1Jun Hwi Cho Jun Hwi Cho 1,4Jin Kim Jin Kim 1Seong-Woo Choi Seong-Woo Choi 4Sun-Seog Kweon Sun-Seog Kweon 2Bongkyu Sun Bongkyu Sun 5Kyunghak Kim Kyunghak Kim 5Kyung-Hwa Park Kyung-Hwa Park 1,3Seong Eun Kim Seong Eun Kim 6*
  • 1 Gwangju Center for Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
  • 2 Department of Preventive Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
  • 3 Department of infectious diseases Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
  • 4 Department of Preventive Medicine, Chosun University Medical School, Gwanju, Republic of Korea
  • 5 Center for Global Diaspora Studies, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
  • 6 Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Measles remains a public health concern, particularly among populations with suboptimal vaccination coverage, including immigrants. This study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of measles antibodies among 651 immigrants from 30 countries residing in Gwangju, South Korea. Participants were recruited between September 2022 and August 2024, and their measles antibody levels were assessed using LIAISON® XL. The study found significant variability in measles antibody positivity rates based on age group (P<0.01, Fisher’s exact test). Younger individuals, particularly those born after 1995, exhibited the lowest seroprevalence (63.7%), whereas participants born in 1964 or earlier were all seropositive (100%). Low seropositivity was observed among immigrants from Russia (68.1%), Kazakhstan (70.6%), Ukraine (72.7%), Mongolia (75.5%), and Cambodia (78.1%), according to their countries of origin. Long-term residents showed higher antibody positivity (92.9%), a statistically significant difference compared to other visa categories (P<0.01, chi-squared test). Women also demonstrated higher seropositivity (85.8%) than men (80.0%), though this difference was near-significant (P=0.05, chi-squared test). This higher rates among long-term residents and migrant women are likely due to prior immunization with the MMR (Measles Mumps Rubella) vaccine, which prevent congenital rubella syndrome as part of pre-pregnancy vaccination protocol. The study underscores the importance of tailored vaccination programs for immigrant populations from regions with lower vaccination coverage to prevent measles reintroduction.

    Keywords: Measles, seroprevalence, antibody, immigrant, South Korea

    Received: 03 Oct 2024; Accepted: 20 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lee, Kim, Na, Yoon, Park, Bae, Park, Cho, Kim, Choi, Kweon, Sun, Kim, Park and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Seong Eun Kim, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea

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