Malaria Meds Do Not Impair Response to Vaccines

Among infants in Africa, preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine did not affect serologic response to vaccines included in the WHO's Expanded Programme on Immunization.

Intermittent preventive treatment during infancy (IPTi) in malaria-endemic areas reduces episodes of falciparum malaria by 30% during infancy — but does it have unintended consequences, such as decreased antibody response to vaccines?

To explore this issue, investigators studied serologic responses to the WHO's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) vaccines with and without concurrent IPTi at five sites in Africa. The study involved a subset of children enrolled in randomized trials comparing IPTi — usually sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine — with placebo (each administered 3 times, immediately after the second and third doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine and measles vaccination). Blood samples were obtained before and 1 to 3 months af…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine