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[Seroconversion after vaccination against pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b and poliomyelitis in preterm
Janusz Piotr Sikora1, Danuta Chlebna-Sokół
1Klinika Propedeutyki Pediatrii IP Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Łodzi. propedeutyka@alef.am.lodz.pl
Insights
Preterm infants demonstrate robust antibody responses to pertussis, Hib, and poliovirus vaccines. The Hiberix vaccine shows high immunogenicity, supporting its inclusion in routine infant immunization schedules.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Vaccinology
- Pediatrics
Context:
- Preterm infants often exhibit altered immune responses.
- Assessing vaccine immunogenicity in preterm populations is crucial for public health.
- Standard immunization schedules require evaluation for vulnerable infant groups.
Purpose:
- To determine antibody levels against Bordetella pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and Poliovirus type 1 in preterm infants.
- To evaluate the immunogenicity of acellular pertussis (Infanrix-DTPa), Hib conjugate (Hiberix), and inactivated poliovirus (Imovax Polio) vaccines.
- To assess seroconversion rates and post-vaccinal antibody titers in preterm infants.
Summary:
- A study involving 32 preterm infants assessed antibody levels post-vaccination with Infanrix-DTPa, Hiberix, and Imovax Polio.
- High seroconversion rates (100% for pertussis and Hib, 95% for polio) were observed after three vaccine doses.
- Statistically significant increases in antibody titers were noted for all antigens, with no correlation to birth weight or gestational age.
Impact:
- The findings support the efficacy of Infanrix-DTPa, Hiberix, and Imovax Polio in preterm infants.
- Hiberix demonstrated high immunogenicity, recommending its incorporation into standard vaccination protocols for preterm infants.
- This research contributes to optimizing vaccination strategies for preterm infants to ensure adequate protection against preventable diseases.
Objective:
This study was aimed to determine the levels of antibodies against Bordetella pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Poliovirus type 1 in preterm children after immunization with acellular pertussis (Infanrix-DTPa) and Hib conjugate (Hiberix) vaccines as well as inactivated vaccine against poliomyelitis (Imovax Polio).
Material And Methods:
32 children were given 3 doses of Infanrix-DTPa and Hiberix vaccines as well as Imovax Polio vaccine. Samples of blood were taken from children 4 weeks after application the 3-rd dose of vaccines and compared with the initial levels of antibodies (seroconversion was evaluated in 32 children immunized with both infanrix-DTPa and Hiberix and in 20 ones immunized with Imovax Polio). We evaluated the postvaccinal immunity against Bordetella pertussis and Hib by means of Immunoenzymatic methods (ELISA), with commercially available test kits (Bordetella pertussis ELISA KIT, Genzyme Virotech GmbH, Rüsselsheim, Germany and BINDAZYME Human Anti Haemophilus Influenzae Enzyme Immunoassay Kit, The Binding Site, Birmingham, U.K.); antibodies against Poliovirus type 1 were assessed using neutralisation method.
Results:
All the children (100%) demonstrated protective levels of antibodies after Immunization with 3-rd doses of Infanrix-DTPa and Hiberix. Only one child (5%) didn't respond when Imovax Polio was applied. The observed increase of postvaccinal antibodies titers as to all applied antigens was statistically significant (p < 0.05). No significant correlations between birth weight, gestational age and the achieved levels of postvaccinal antibodies were noticed.
Conclusions:
Our results prove that nearly all the preterm infants achieve the protective levels of antibodies against pertussis, Hib and poliomyelitis. Hiberix due to its high immunogenicity should be applied in the obligatory vaccination schedules, especially in preterm infants.
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