High need for MMR vaccination in HIV infected adults in Austria

Current guidelines recommend screening for HIV infected patients susceptible for vaccine preventable diseases and offering of immunization. However, data regarding the vaccination coverage among this group are largely missing. This study analyzed the serostatus for Measles, Mumps and Rubella of more than 700 HIV infected patients residing in Austria. These patients were representative for the Austrian HIV cohort regarding sex, age, transmission risk and HIV progression markers. 73.6% were on suppressive HAART, mean CD4 cell count was 603 c/μl. Seronegativity was 8.4% for Measles, 33.4% for Mumps and 18.8% for Rubella. In total, out of the 713 HIV infected adults analyzed, almost half (47.8%) would require MMR vaccination. In a multivariate analysis migration was significantly associated with seronegativity for Measles (OR 0.5, CI 0.27-0.9) and Mumps (OR 0.57, CI 0.39-0.81). Importantly due to the well preserved immune status of nearly all participants vaccination would be feasible in the majority of the seronegative patients. Thus, a proactive approach would largely reduce the number of patients at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases.