Immunization Update, March 2007, Vol. 1, no. 4

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, June 2007, Vol. 1, no. 5

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, September 2007, Vol. 1, no. 6

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, January 2008, Vol. 1, no. 6

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, April 2008, Vol. 1, no. 7

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, July 2008, Vol. 1, no. 8

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, October 2008, Vol. 1, no. 9

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, January 2009, Vol. 1, no. 10

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, April 2009, Vol. 1, no. 11

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, July 2009, Vol. 1, no. 12

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, April 2010

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, August 2010

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Immunization Update, November 2010

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Health

Evidence of an interannual effect of maternal immunization on the immune response of juveniles in a long-lived colonial bird.

Little is known about the maternal transfer of antibodies in natural host-parasite systems despite its possible evolutionary and ecological implications. In domestic animals, the maternal transfer of antibodies can enhance offspring survival via a temporary protection against parasites, but it can also interfere with the juvenile immune response to antigens. We tested the functional role of maternal antibodies in a natural population of a long-lived colonial seabird, the kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), using a vaccine (Newcastle disease virus vaccine) to mimic parasite exposure combined with a cross-fostering design. We first investigated the role of prior maternal exposure on the interannual transmission of Ab to juveniles. We then tested the effect of these antibodies on the juvenile immune response to the same antigen. The results show that specific maternal antibodies were transferred to chicks 1 year after maternal exposure and that these antibodies were functional, i.e. they affected juvenile immunity. These results suggest that the role of maternal antibodies may depend on the timing and pattern of offspring exposure to parasites, along with the patterns of maternal exposure and the dynamics of her immune response. Overall, our approach underlines that although the transgenerational transfer of antibodies in natural populations is likely to have broad implications, the nature of these effects may vary dramatically among host-parasite systems, depending on the physiological mechanisms involved and the ecological context.

Restoration of anti-tetanus toxoid responses in patients initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy with or without a boost immunization: an INITIO substudy.

INITIO is an open-labelled randomized trial evaluating first-line therapeutic strategies for human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. In an immunology substudy a tetanus toxoid booster (TTB) immunization was planned for 24 weeks after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). All patients had received tetanus toxoid immunization in childhood. Generation of proliferative responses to tetanus toxoid was compared in two groups of patients, those receiving a protease inhibitor (PI)-sparing regimen (n = 21) and those receiving a PI-containing (n = 54) regimen. Fifty-two participants received a TTB immunization [PI-sparing (n = 15), PI-containing (n = 37)] and 23 participants did not [PI-sparing (n = 6) or PI-containing (n = 17)]. Cellular responses to tetanus antigen were monitored by lymphoproliferation at time of immunization and every 24 weeks to week 156. Proportions with a positive response (defined as stimulation index > or = 3 and Delta counts per minute > or = 3000) were compared at weeks 96 and 156. All analyses were intent-to-treat. Fifty-two participants had a TTB immunization at median 25 weeks; 23 patients did not. At weeks 96 and 156 there was no evidence of a difference in tetanus-specific responses, between those with or without TTB immunization (P = 0.2, P = 0.4). There was no difference in the proportion with response between those with PI-sparing or PI-containing regimens at both time-points (P = 0.8, P = 0.7). The proliferative response to tetanus toxoid was unaffected by initial HAART regimen. Anti-tetanus responses appear to reconstitute eventually in most patients over 156 weeks when treated successfully with HAART, irrespective of whether or not a TTB immunization has been administered.