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Pneumococcal Immune Response in Infants Whose Mothers Received Tetanus, Diphtheria and Acellular Pertussis

Kirsten Maertens1, Polly Burbidge, Pierre Van Damme

  • 1From the *Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination, Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; and †Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
|April 12, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Maternal tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination during pregnancy may temporarily lower infant pneumococcal antibody responses. However, infant immune responses to pneumococcal vaccines become comparable to controls after a booster dose.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Vaccinology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Maternal immunization with tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine during pregnancy is a strategy to protect infants from pertussis.
  • Potential impact of maternal Tdap vaccination on infant immune responses to other simultaneously recommended vaccines, such as pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effect of maternal Tdap vaccination on infant immune responses to 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13).

Main Methods:

  • A prospective controlled cohort trial involved infants born to mothers vaccinated with Tdap during pregnancy and controls.
  • Infants received PCV13 at 8 and 16 weeks, and 12 months of age.
  • Pneumococcal antibody concentrations against vaccine serotypes were measured after primary and booster immunizations.

Main Results:

  • Infants of Tdap-vaccinated mothers showed lower antibody concentrations to several pneumococcal serotypes after primary PCV13 vaccination.
  • This blunting effect resolved after a booster dose at 12 months, except for serotypes 1 and 4.
  • Seroprotection rates were comparable between groups after primary and booster vaccination, with a noted exception for serotype 3 after primary vaccination.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal Tdap vaccination may transiently blunt infant immune responses to PCV13 after primary immunization.
  • Booster vaccination at 12 months largely restores pneumococcal antibody levels and seroprotection in infants of Tdap-vaccinated mothers.
  • The findings suggest that maternal Tdap vaccination does not significantly compromise infant protection against pneumococcal disease long-term.
Abstract

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