Neonatal Response to DTP Vaccines

Abstract

I MMUNIZATION and vaccination during the first, second, or third month of life has been advocated by health authorities to provide protection during the period of greatest vulnerability to infection (1-4). As infants are susceptible to pertussis from birth, and fatality is highest during the first 6 months of life, delay in pertussis immunization until 3 to 6 months of age fails to prevent most of the deaths from this disease. In addition, the advent of routine poliomyelitis vaccination requires establishing optimum immunization schedules for diseases for which specific prevention is now available. General concern over the ability of the infant to respond during the first month of life to a variety of antigens, singly or in combination, has deterred early immunization procedures. The tendency to delay immunization has also resulted from unwillingness to expose the newborn to local and systemic reactions that may accompany injection. Antigens that will stimulate maximum protection in the newborn with a minimum of side reactions are diligently sought. The choice of antigen is complicated by the variation in potency of available preparations (5). Our study measures response to combined immunization initiated within the first 2 weeks of life, compares the response to aluminum phosphate and aluminum hydroxide adsorbed antigens, and observes local and systemic reactions following the use of each of these preparations.