title: Maternal vaccines.
abstract: Acute lower respiratory illness (LRI) is the leading cause of disease worldwide as measured by disability-adjusted life years. New strategies are necessary to decrease the disease burden that is largely borne by infants. Respiratory syncytial virus is the most important cause of LRI in infants. Lower respiratory illness can be prevented by endowing infants with high levels of neutralizing antibodies from mothers whose antibodies are boosted during pregnancy with a potent subunit vaccine. Another important cause of infant mortality is group B streptococcus sepsis in the neonatal period; maternal immunization with a group B conjugate vaccine could prevent this devastating infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Glezen
mesh_terms: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology; D003140:Communicable Disease Control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000517:prevention & control; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011295:Prenatal Care; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D014765:Viral Vaccines