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General non-specific morbidity is reduced after vaccination within the third month of life--the Greifswald study
1Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Klinik und Poliklinik für Kindermedizin der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität, Soldtmannstr. 15, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany.
Insights
Vaccination in infants, specifically against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, HiB, and poliomyelitis, was found to reduce infection rates. This study indicates that vaccination does not increase, but rather decreases, the frequency of infectious disease symptoms in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Vaccination is crucial for reducing infectious disease incidence.
- Concerns exist regarding potential unspecific negative side effects of vaccination on the immune system.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether vaccination leads to an increased frequency of infectious diseases in children.
- To assess the impact of early-life vaccination on overall morbidity.
Main Methods:
- A randomized clinical study involving 496 infants.
- Comparison between a vaccinated group (n=201) and an unvaccinated group (n=295).
- Morbidity signs were recorded by mothers using diary cards for statistical analysis.
Main Results:
- Vaccinated children exhibited significantly fewer infectious disease-associated symptoms compared to unvaccinated children.
- Symptoms such as vomiting, coughing, rhinitis, restlessness, rash, and pain were less frequent in the vaccinated group.
Conclusions:
- Simultaneous vaccination in infancy does not increase infectious disease symptoms.
- Vaccination was associated with a significant reduction in infection-associated symptoms.
- Potential mechanisms include unspecific enhancement of immunological activity or other unknown factors.
Objectives:
The incidence of many serious infectious diseases fundamentally decline as a success of consequent vaccination regimens. However, it is a matter of discussion if vaccination might cause unspecific negative side effects on the immune system. To answer this, we performed a clinical study on children with the question as to whether there is an enhanced frequency of infection diseases after vaccination or not.
Methods:
The study population (n=496) was randomized to a group of vaccinated children (first vaccination on the 60th day of life, n=201) and a group of unvaccinated children (first vaccination on the 90th day of life, n=295). Frequencies of unspecific, morbidity-related signs were recorded by the mothers with a diary card. These data were taken for further statistical analysis to determine if the factor "vaccination" does have a significant effect on the variable "morbidity".
Results:
Various infectious disease-associated symptoms (vomiting, coughing, signs of rhinitis, restlessness, rash and pain) were significantly less often seen in vaccinated than in non-vaccinated children.
Conclusions:
Our study revealed that children who received vaccination against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, HiB and poliomyelitis simultaneously within the third month of life do not exhibit enhanced frequencies of infectious disease-associated symptoms. In contrary, the frequencies of infection-associated symptoms were found to be significantly reduced. This might be caused by a vaccination-associated unspecific enhancement of immunological activity (e.g. mediated by interleukin 2) or by other presently still unknown factors.