Non-specific beneficial effect of measles immunisation: analysis of mortality studies from developing countries

This is an analysis of 12 observational studies from Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Senegal and Zaire. All these studies compared mortality of unimmunised children and mortality of children immunised with standard titre measles vaccine in developing countries. Vaccine efficacy against death was much greater than the proportion of deaths attributed to acute measles disease. The standard titre measles vaccine may confer a beneficial effect which is unrelated to the specific protection against measles disease.