Twenty-five children with a history of egg sensitivity, e. g. exanthema, urticaria and diarrea and/or who had a specific IgE antibody for egg-white, were evaluated for receiving measles vaccine or measles, mumpus and rubella vaccine (MMR vaccine)
Skin tests were performed with egg-white and a 1:10 or 1:100 dilution of measles or MMR vaccine. Skin prick test with egg-white was positive in all eight children who had a history of egg sensitivity. All twenty-three children with a negative reaction to the skin test with the diluted vaccines were immunized in the routine way with no immediate adverse reactions. Two children, who had positive reactions to the intradermal skin test with the diluted vaccine, were safely immunized with desensitization by subcutaneous administration of the vaccine as described previously by Herman, et al.
These studies suggest that children with a history of egg sensitivity should be screened with the skin test with a dilution of measles or MMR vaccine prior to immunization with measles or MMR vaccine, and children who have a positive reaction to the skin test should be immunized according to a desensitization protocol.