Infants ‘at risk for measles in first year’
May 19th, 2010 - 4:29 pm ICT by ANILondon, May 19 (ANI): A new research has found that young infants have a gap in their protection against measles, from around two to three months old until they are vaccinated at 12 months of age.
This is because the level of antibodies infants get from their mother drops over time, leaving them susceptible until they are vaccinated, says the study.
These findings underline the importance of measles vaccination at around 12 months of age and support ongoing research into earlier vaccination.
The study involved 207 healthy women-infant pairs recruited from five hospitals in the Province of Antwerp, Belgium from April 2006.
Medical records were used to divide women into two groups: those who had been vaccinated against measles during infancy and those with naturally acquired immunity from measles infection earlier in life.
Levels of measles antibodies were measured from blood samples taken during week 36 of pregnancy, at birth (cord blood), in all infants at 1, 3 and 12 months, and randomly at either 6 or 9 months.
Vaccinated women had significantly fewer antibodies than did naturally immune women. Similarly, infants of vaccinated women had significantly lower antibody levels than infants of naturally immune women.
The presence of maternal antibodies lasted a median time of 2.61 months - 3.78 months for infants of naturally immune women and 0.97 months for infants of vaccinated women.
At six months of age, over 99 percent of infants of vaccinated women and 95 percent of infants of naturally immune women had lost their maternal antibodies. And at 9 and 12 months, no positive samples were left in either group.
The researchers found no significant impact of breastfeeding, birth weight, educational level, caesarean section or day care attendance on the duration of maternal antibodies.
This study describes a very early susceptibility to measles in both infants of vaccinated women and women with naturally acquired immunity, say the authors.
If future studies show that measles vaccines can be offered with success at an age of less than nine months, policy makers could consider moving forward the routine measles vaccination programme.
The study has been published on bmj.com. (ANI)
- Till 12 months, infants aren't protected against measles - May 19, 2010
- Anti-hepatitis A shot effective for 10 years - Aug 10, 2012
- Flu jabs during pregnancy lower virus risk to baby - Oct 06, 2010
- Maternal influenza vaccination linked to flu protection in infants - Oct 05, 2010
- New measles vaccine that can be inhaled shows promise - Feb 02, 2011
- Toxins from formula food found in babies - Oct 06, 2011
- PFCs weaken immune response to vaccine shots in childhood - Jan 25, 2012
- Trials to test H1N1 vaccine efficacy in HIV-infected pregnant women underway - Oct 10, 2009
- New research could 'protect newborn babies from HIV infection' - Oct 04, 2010
- Poor sleep hits potency of vaccines - Aug 02, 2012
- Additional early vaccination may help reduce measles outbreaks - Jul 25, 2008
- Pregnancy stress can affect baby's iron status: Study - Apr 30, 2012
- Kids respond better to recommended swine flu vaccine - May 28, 2010
- FACTSHEETS - Smallpox: in detail - Mar 25, 2010
- Childhood exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls lowers immune response to vaccination - Jun 21, 2010
Tags: 9 months, antibody levels, antwerp belgium, birth weight, blood samples, caesarean section, cord blood, day care, educational level, gap, immunity, infancy, maternal antibodies, measles, median time, medical records, ongoing research, significant impact, vaccination, week 36 of pregnancy