Abstract
Background: Micronutrient deficiencies may contribute to reduced oral vaccine immunogenicity in developing countries. We hypothesised that neonatal vitamin A supplementation (NVAS) would improve oral vaccine responses. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of infants recruited at birth to the Zimbabwe Vitamin A for Mothers and Babies (ZVITAMBO) trial, a randomised controlled trial of single, high-dose NVAS vs placebo conducted in Zimbabwe between 1997-2001. We measured poliovirus-specific IgA to type 1-3 polio strains by semiquantitative capture ELISA in cryopreserved plasma samples collected at 6 months of age. Results: A total of 181 infants fulfilled inclusion criteria, of whom 80 were randomised to NVAS and 101 to placebo. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between groups. At 6 months of age, median (IQR) vaccine titres for infants randomised to NVAS vs placebo were 932 (421-3001) vs 1774 (711-5431) for Sabin-1 (p=0.04); 1361 (705-3402) vs 2309 (1081-4283) for Sabin-2 (p=0.15); and 1584 (796-4216) vs 2260 (996-5723) for Sabin-3 (p=0.14), respectively. After adjusting for breast feeding status, birth weight, season and infant sex in a linear regression model, there was only weak evidence of difference in log mean titres between vitamin A and placebo groups for Sabin-1 (p=0.08) and no evidence of difference in log mean titres for Sabin-2 and Sabin-3. Conclusions: NVAS did not augment oral polio vaccine responses in Zimbabwean infants. Further research is required to understand the impact of NVAS on responses to other oral vaccines.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 110-115 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene |
Volume | 113 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1 2019 |
Keywords
- Africa
- Infants
- OPV
- Oral vaccine
- Poliovirus
- Vitamin A.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Parasitology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Infectious Diseases