title: Effect of breast-feeding on antibody response to conjugate vaccine.
abstract: Infants were immunised at the ages of 2, 4, and 6 months with conjugate Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine, and their responses to the vaccine were evaluated by feeding method (breast or formula). There were no significant differences between the groups in antibody levels at early ages. However the antibody levels were significantly higher in the breast-fed (57 infants) than the formula-fed group (24 infants) at 7 months (mean [SD] 29.8 [32.0] vs 17.5 [14.8] micrograms/ml) and at 12 months (55 vs 26 infants; 4.8 [4.4] vs 3.0 [2.3] micrograms/ml). These findings are strong evidence that breast-feeding enhances the active immune response in the first year of life, and therefore the feeding method must be taken into account in the evaluation of vaccine studies in infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Pabst
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Spady
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D001942:Breast Feeding; D004168:Diphtheria Toxoid / Q000276:immunology*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D018073:Haemophilus Vaccines; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007110:Immunity, Active; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D014611:Vaccination; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D004168:Diphtheria Toxoid; D018073:Haemophilus Vaccines; C052180:Haemophilus influenzae type b-polysaccharide vaccine-diphtheria toxoid conjugate; D014612:Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic