Immune Responses in U.S. Military Personnel Who Received Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MenACWY) Concomitantly with Other Vaccines Were Higher than in Personnel Who Received MenACWY Alone.
Immunological responses to vaccination can differ depending on whether the vaccine is given alone or with other vaccines. This study was a retrospective evaluation of the immunogenicity of a tetravalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine for serogroups A, C, W, and Y (MenACWY) administered alone (n = 41) or concomitantly with other vaccines (n = 279) to U.S. military personnel (mean age, 21.6 years) entering the military between 2006 and 2008. Concomitant vaccines included tetanus/diphtheria (Td), inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), hepatitis vaccines, and various influenza vaccines, among others; two vaccine groups excluded Tdap and IPV. Immune responses were evaluated in baseline and postvaccination sera for Neisseria meningitidis serogroups C and Y 1 to 12 months (mean, 4.96 months) following vaccination. Functional antibodies were measured by using a serum bactericidal antibody assay with rabbit complement (rSBA) and by measurement of serogroup-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. The percentage of vaccinees reaching threshold levels (IgG concentration in serum, ≥2 μg/ml; rSBA titer, ≥8) corresponding to an immunologic response was higher postvaccination than at baseline (P < 0.001). Administration of MenACWY along with other vaccines was associated with higher geometric means of IgG concentrations and rSBA titers than those measured 4.60 months after a single dose of MenACWY. In addition, higher percentages of vaccinees reached the immunological threshold (range of odds ratios [ORs], 1.5 to 21.7) and more of them seroconverted (OR range, 1.8 to 4.8) when MenACWY was administered with any other vaccine than when administered alone. Additional prospective randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm the observed differences among groups in the immune response to MenACWY when given concomitantly with other vaccines to U.S. military personnel.
Operational Infectious Diseases Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA michael.broderick@med.navy.mil.
Michael P
MP
Broderick
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Sandra
S
Romero-Steiner
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Gowrisankar
G
Rajam
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Scott E
SE
Johnson
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Andrea
A
Milton
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Ellie
E
Kim
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Lisa J
LJ
Choi
Operational Infectious Diseases Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
Jennifer M
JM
Radin
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Daniel S
DS
Schmidt
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
George M
GM
Carlone
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Nancy
N
Messonnier
Operational Infectious Diseases Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
Dennis J
DJ
Faix
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001770:Blood Bactericidal Activity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D008889:Military Personnel; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; C525703:MenACWY; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate