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Study Shows HIV-Uninfected Babies Born to Mothers with HIV Might be at a Higher Risk for Infections
Babies who are born to mothers who are HIV positive, but who are not HIV-infected themselves, are born with lower levels of specific proteins in their blood called antibodies, which fight infection, a new study has found. The finding, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, might explain in part why uninfected babies born to women with HIV have a higher risk of illness and death early in life.
Antiviral Drugs
Antiviral drugs given to the mother during pregnancy have reduced the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV from twenty to thirty percent to about five percent in some areas of South Africa and to less than one percent in developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Europe and other developed countries.
The Study
A new study, by scientists from Imperial College London and Stellenbosch University in South Africa, found that babies born to HIV-infected mothers had significantly lower levels at birth of antibodies against a range of bacterial infections (Hib, pertussis, pneumococcus and tetanus). These antibodies protect the child from illnesses.
Despite their low antibody levels at birth, the babies in the study responded well to vaccination: they produced similar levels of antibody to some vaccines and higher levels to other vaccines.
The Study Results
“Amongst the HIV-negative women in the study, a third also had low antibody levels, showing that protection against infection in their babies might also not be optimal in some women, who are otherwise perfectly healthy.”
Conclusion
Often time’s parents do not understand how important vaccines are for their babies. Dr Beate Kampmann, Reader in Pediatric Infection & Immunity at Imperial and the senior author of the study, said: "Around six million children under five die every year from infectious diseases, and a lot of these deaths are preventable by using existing vaccines.”
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208163502.htm
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