Immunization of asymptomatic HIV-infected children with measles vaccine: assessment of risks and benefits

Because HIV infection is associated with immunologic abnormalities, concerns have been expressed about the safety and efficacy of vaccination of infected children with live virus vaccines. The authors used decision analysis to assess the likely impacts of four alternative policies for immunization of asymptomatic HIV-infected children with measles vaccine. Probabilities for vaccine efficacy, vaccine-related adverse events, and measles complications in HIV-infected children and the prevalence of HIV infection in the birth cohort were obtained from a modified Delphi survey. Using median estimates from the Delphi survey, there were no major differences in outcomes under any proposed policy. Using the most extreme estimates, serologic testing and exclusion of seropositive children from vaccination or exclusion of all high-risk children decreased vaccine-associated adverse events without greatly increasing measles complications, primarily because of the current low incidence of measles. Under conditions assumed to exist in the United States today, alternate immunization policies have only minor differences in societal impact although costs would certainly differ.