HIV-Infected Infants Respond Poorly To Childhood Vaccination

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 04 Dec 2007 - 17:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

It is known that HIV-infected children who do not receive appropriate antiretroviral drugs experience immune depression, and may become susceptible to infectious diseases that would otherwise be prevented by childhood immunization. It is therefore important to find out to what extent HIV-infected children are able to generate adequate levels of antibodies following routine childhood immunizations.

A paper published online this week in PLoS ONE describes the results of a cross-sectional study carried out amongst 18-36 month-old children born to HIV-infected mothers and living in Central Africa. The study suggested that immuno-suppressed HIV-infected children have a low persistence of antibodies to the vaccines of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI, WHO).

The study was conducted in Cameroon and the Central African Republic by pediatricians, epidemiologists, bacteriologists and virologists, and coordinated by the Institut Pasteur (Paris, France) through its International Network, particularly the institutes based at the Pasteur Center in Yaoundé and at the Institut Pasteur in Bangui.

The researchers found that antibody levels to measles vaccine was particularly low amongst children who were HIV infected, and that antibody levels to vaccine amongst HIV-uninfected children born to HIV-infected mothers were lower than expected. This latter finding raises the possibility that HIV exposure during pregnancy might influence the response to EPI vaccines in the first weeks of life. These results suggest that children living with HIV may need an adapted EPI vaccine schedule.

Citation: Tejiokem MC, Gouandjika I, Be´niguel L, Zanga Marie-Claire E, Tene G, et al (2007) HIV-Infected Children Living in Central Africa Have Low Persistence of Antibodies to Vaccines Used in the Expanded Program on Immunization. PLoS ONE 2(12): e1260. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001260
Please click here

PLoS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ both pre- and post-publication peer review to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLoS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLoS), the open access publisher whose goal is to make the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource.

http://www.plosone.org

Disclaimer

The following press releases refer to a selection of the upcoming articles in PLoS ONE. The releases are provided by the article authors and/or their institutions. Any opinions expressed in these releases or articles are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the releases and articles and your use of such information.

Public Library of Science
185 Berry Street, Suite 3100
San Francisco, CA 94107
USA