title: Supplementation with zinc, but not vitamin A, improves seroconversion to vibriocidal antibody in children given an oral cholera vaccine.
abstract: To investigate whether micronutrient supplementation could improve the vibriocidal antibody response of children to a killed oral cholera vaccine, 2-5-year-old children were randomly assigned to receive vitamin A and zinc (AZ group), vitamin A and a placebo (A group), zinc and a placebo (Z group), or both placebos (P group). All children received 2 doses of the vaccine. The number of children who had a > or = 4-fold increase in vibriocidal antibody was significantly greater in the AZ group than in the P group (P = .025-.028). Factorial analysis suggested that the proportion of children with a > or = 4-fold increase in vibriocidal antibody titer was significantly greater in the zinc-supplemented groups than in the groups that did not receive zinc (P = .013-.048) and that vitamin A supplementation did not have a significant effect. Thus, supplementation with zinc improves seroconversion to vibriocidal antibody and, hence, has the potential to improve the efficacy of oral cholera vaccine in children.
authors.affiliation: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. john@hsc.kuniv.edu.kw
authors.forename: M John
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: Firdausi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qadri
authors.forename: Mohammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wahed
authors.forename: Tanvir
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: A S M Hamidur
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Firoz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Nurul A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Bhuiyan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zaman
authors.forename: Abdullah H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Baqui
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Clemens
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Black
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001459:Bangladesh; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002771:Cholera / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014505:Urban Population; D014611:Vaccination; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000276:immunology*; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015032:Zinc / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D014801:Vitamin A; D015032:Zinc