Mother-infant vaccination with pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine: Persistence of maternal antibodies and responses of infants to vaccination

Protection against pneumococcal infection early in life is needed. This could be achieved by maternal vaccination or by starting infant vaccinations as early as possible. In an open controlled study, pregnant women received both 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV), Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine and tetanus toxoid or tetanus toxoid alone. Infants received PPV at 7 or 17 weeks and the second dose at 3 years of age. Antibodies to six pneumococcal serotypes were measured with the non-22F and 22F enzyme immunoassays (EIA). Elevated antibody concentrations after maternal vaccination persisted in infants until 4 months of age. Infants responded to serotypes 1 and 5, but not to serotypes 6B, 14, 18C and 19F. High maternal antibody concentrations at early age reduced the responses, but not the antibody concentrations, of infants to PPV. The percentages of infants with concentrations >0.35 μg/ml and >1 μg/ml were high at birth, but decreased by age during the first 10 months of life. Revaccination with PPV at 3 years of age induced a good immune response.