Flu jab for pregnant women cuts virus in babies - Vaccinating expectant mothers against flu almost halves the chance of their babies getting the virus in the first six months of life, according to research.
Antibodies developed by the mother in response to the innoculation are passed to the child via the placenta and breastfeeding.
The US study of 160 women and their infants found that the babies of those vaccinated while pregnant, were 41 per cent less likely to get flu up to six months old.
The chance of such a baby being hospitalised with a flu-like illness was also 39 per cent lower than those whose mothers had not been vaccinated while pregnant, found Dr Angelia Eick, who was working at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.
Writing in the Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, she and her colleagues concluded: "These findings provide support for the added benefit of protecting infants from influenza virus infection up to six months, the period when infants are not eligible for influenza vaccination but are at highest risk of severe influenza illness."
Last week the Department of Health announced that all pregnant women would be offered the seasonal flu vaccine for the first time this winter.
The move was prompted by data from last year's H1N1 swine flu pandemic, which showed expectant mothers were four times more likely to be treated in hospital for it than the general population. The mortality rate among them also appeared to be twice the norm. The H1N1 strain is to be included in the vaccine.
A decision over whether to continue giving pregnant women the seasonal flu jab after the coming winter has yet to be taken. ( telegraph.co.uk )
Antibodies developed by the mother in response to the innoculation are passed to the child via the placenta and breastfeeding.
The US study of 160 women and their infants found that the babies of those vaccinated while pregnant, were 41 per cent less likely to get flu up to six months old.
The chance of such a baby being hospitalised with a flu-like illness was also 39 per cent lower than those whose mothers had not been vaccinated while pregnant, found Dr Angelia Eick, who was working at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.
Writing in the Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, she and her colleagues concluded: "These findings provide support for the added benefit of protecting infants from influenza virus infection up to six months, the period when infants are not eligible for influenza vaccination but are at highest risk of severe influenza illness."
Last week the Department of Health announced that all pregnant women would be offered the seasonal flu vaccine for the first time this winter.
The move was prompted by data from last year's H1N1 swine flu pandemic, which showed expectant mothers were four times more likely to be treated in hospital for it than the general population. The mortality rate among them also appeared to be twice the norm. The H1N1 strain is to be included in the vaccine.
A decision over whether to continue giving pregnant women the seasonal flu jab after the coming winter has yet to be taken. ( telegraph.co.uk )
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