Humoral immune response to measles and varicella vaccination in former very low birth weight preterm infants.

Introduction: Immune response to vaccination in infants born prematurely may be lower than in infants born at full-term. Some clinical factors might be associated with humoral immune response.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to compare the immune response to measles and varicella vaccination in infants born prematurely with those born at full-term and to analyze factors associated with measles and varicella antibody levels.

Immune response to tetanus booster in infants aged 15 months born prematurely with very low birth weight.

Objectives: To compare humoral and cellular immune responses to tetanus booster vaccination in infants born prematurely with those born at full term and identify factors associated with the humoral response.

Methods: A prospective study was carried out on children born prematurely and with a birth weight <1500g and with infants born at full term. At 15 months (pre-vaccination) and 18 months (post-vaccination), anti-tetanus antibodies were measured by ELISA; the intracellular interferon-gamma percentages of CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells after in vitro stimulation with tetanus toxoid were determined by flow cytometry.