title: Anti-pneumococcal antibody levels three to seven years after first booster immunization in children with sickle cell disease, and after a second booster.
abstract: We measured pneumococcal antibody levels in 55 patients (ages 7 to 20 years) with sickle cell disease 3 to 7 years after the first booster immunization. Only 6 of the children had protective levels of antibodies (> 300 ng/ml) against all 12 serotypes tested. Thirty-two children (58%) had suboptimal levels against 1 to 3 serotypes; 17 had suboptimal levels against 4 to 10 serotypes. Ten patients from the latter group (ages 13 to 17 years) received a second booster 6 to 8 years after the first booster immunization, and had a marked increase in antibody levels against all serotypes with the exception of serotypes 3 and 4 in two patients and serotype 6A in one patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York, SUNY-Health Science Center at Brooklyn 11203, USA.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rajkumar
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schiffman
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Unger
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000276:immunology*; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D012703:Serotyping; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial