Undernutrition and immunity: smallpox vaccination in chronically starved, undernourished subjects and its immunologic...

This study illustrates the specific immune response of chronically starved, undernourished adults after inoculation of live smallpox vaccine. It produced no adverse effect, and major vaccinial reaction was observed in all. 63% of undernourished individuals showed a fourfold or greater rise of the neutralizing antibody titre. In contrast, only 9% of normal healthy subjects could show similar response. However, the prevaccination titre was much lower in the undernourished group than in the control group, and the postvaccination titre also remained persistently lower in the former than in the latter group. Furthermore, whereas the specific humoral antibody response in the undernourished subjects was partially adequate, the development of specific cellular immunity against vaccinia was remarkably poor, indicating that smallpox vaccination in these subjects might be less effective against variola infection. This observed profound effect of chronic starvation and severe undernutrition on the immune apparatus was possibly multifactorial, protein depletion being the most important factor, as proved by the significantly low serum albumin level. The significantly low peripheral blood lymphocyte count and spectacular unresponsiveness to many antigens in these individuals suggested profound depression of the thymolymphatic system. Further, the significantly low level of neutralizing antibody in the malnourished subjects suggested that the formation of this protective antibody might necessitate the cooperation of T lymphocytes.