Side Reaction to Measles Vaccination Suggesting the Arthus Phenomenon

LOCAL damage due to antigen–antibody reaction has been known since the original work of Arthus1 , 2 in 1903. A reaction similar to the Arthus phenomenon3 has been observed in children given inactivated-measles-virus vaccine followed by live-virus vaccine. This method has been introduced to avoid the side reactions resulting from certain live-virus vaccines.4 , 5 Children of the age group from twelve months to five years were vaccinated in my practice against measles by a regimen of a single injection of commercial inactivated-virus vaccine. The vaccine was a filtered, alum-precipitated preparation of measles virus derived from the Edmonston strain, propagated in monkey-kidney tissue-culture cells . . .