Investigation of Immune Amnesia Following Measles Infection in Select African Regions

May 11, 2026 updated by: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
The goal of this observational study is to investigate the effects of measles virus (MeV) infection on pre-existing immunity, vaccine response, and susceptibility to subsequent illness in children aged 1-15 either with or without acute MeV infection.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This is a prospective, observational, longitudinal study to be conducted in West Africa. Eligible children will be enrolled into 1 of 2 arms: acute MeV infection (cases) or no acute MeV infection (controls) as assessed using upper respiratory specimens and blood samples. Blood samples will be collected at screening/enrollment (Day 0) and follow-up visits on Day 14, Week 13, and Week 52, and tested for humoral and cellular immune responses to endemic pathogens to determine changes in antibody diversity and antibody secreting cells (ASCs). All children in each arm will receive rabies vaccination (standard 3-dose series given as pre-exposure prophylaxis [PrEP]), with the first dose randomized to either Week 8 or Week 47 after enrollment. Biological samples will be collected after vaccination to assess if the immune stimulus (rabies vaccine) response differs: 1) between children with and without MeV infection, and 2) based on the timing of the receipt of the rabies vaccine.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
264

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Guinea
      • Conakry, Guinea
        • Partnership of Clinical Research in Guinea, Partenariat Pour La Recherche Clinique en Guinée (PREGUI)
  • Mali
      • Bamako, Mali
        • University Clinical Research Center (UCRC) University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Specific study sites within each country will be in areas experiencing measles outbreaks.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 1 to 15 years.
  • Ability of the participant's legal or culturally acceptable representative to provide informed consent.
  • Ability to give assent, as appropriate.
  • Stated willingness of parent/guardian and participant as appropriate, to comply with all study procedures.
  • Willingness to receive rabies vaccine.
  • Meet the criteria for assignment to Group 1 or Group 2, as follows:
  • Group 1, cases (acute MeV infection):
  • Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of acute MeV infection (Koplik spots or skin rash) AND
  • Laboratory confirmed measles:
  • Upper respiratory specimen (swab) PCR for measles positive, OR
  • Serum IgM for measles positive.
  • Group 2, controls (no acute MeV infection):
  • No clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of acute MeV infection (Koplik spots or skin rash) AND
  • Upper respiratory specimen (swab) PCR negative for MeV AND
  • Serum measles IgM negative AND
  • Serum measles IgG positive and previously vaccinated for measles (2nd dose will be offered if appropriate). If serum measles IgG is negative, participant must be willing to be vaccinated regardless of prior measles vaccine history to meet this criterion.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • HIV infection or any other immunosuppressive condition or medications.
  • Pregnant or lactating.
  • History of prior measles or immunologic evidence of prior measles in the absence of prior measles vaccination.
  • Severe anemia, defined as hemoglobin less than 8 g/dL.
  • Any acute or chronic condition which, in the opinion of the investigator, constitutes a contraindication to participation in this study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Group 1 - Actue MeV Infection
Participants have acute MeV infection.
Biological: Verorab
Participants in each group will receive rabies vaccination (standard 3-dose series given as PrEP), with the first dose randomized to either Week 8 or Week 47 after enrollment.
Group 2 - No Actue MeV Infection
Participants do not have acute MeV infection.
Biological: Verorab
Participants in each group will receive rabies vaccination (standard 3-dose series given as PrEP), with the first dose randomized to either Week 8 or Week 47 after enrollment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in pre-existing immunity
Time Frame: Week 13 after baseline
Mean change in a panel of antibody levels over 13 weeks as measured by multiplex serological methods and targeted ELISAs for confirmation.
Week 13 after baseline
Effect of MeV infection on immune response to a controlled immune stimulus (rabies vaccination)
Time Frame: 14 days after last PrEP regimen vaccination
Proportion of subjects with rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) titer ≥ 0.5 IU/mL as measured by rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test
14 days after last PrEP regimen vaccination
Effect of MeV infection on immune response to a controlled immune stimulus
Time Frame: 5-6 weeks after the first rabies vaccine dose
Proportion of subjects with an RVNA titer ≥ lower limit of quantification
5-6 weeks after the first rabies vaccine dose
Effect of MeV infection on immune response to a controlled immune stimulus
Time Frame: 5-6 weeks after the first rabies vaccine dose
Geometric mean RVNA titer
5-6 weeks after the first rabies vaccine dose

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in healthcare system encounters
Time Frame: 1 year following enrollment
Mean number of non-study sick visit healthcare system encounters during the 1-year follow-up.
1 year following enrollment
Change in pre-existing immunity
Time Frame: Week 52 after baseline
Mean change in a panel of antibody levels over 52 weeks as measured by multiplex serological methods and targeted ELISAs for confirmation.
Week 52 after baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Johns Hopkins University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Director: Sally Hunsberger, Ph.D., National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 16, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 16, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 16, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 25, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 29, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 1, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 11, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Measles West Africa 01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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