(ANSA) - ROME, APRIL 28 - Children who have received treatment with antibiotics have a worse response to childhood vaccines, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Rochester General Hospital Research Institute and published in the journal Pediatrics.
The research involved 560 infants between six months and two years of age who were vaccinated between 2006 and 2016 and compared antibody levels between those who had received at least one antibiotic prescription at the time of vaccination and those who had never taken antibacterial drugs.
"What we have seen is that exposure to antibiotics appears to have a negative effect on the levels of antibodies developed in response to the vaccine," explains research coordinator Michael Pichichero.
"Furthermore, the effect seems cumulative: therefore with each course of antibiotics you observe a small reduction in the levels of antibodies by a percentage of 6-10% before the booster. After the booster, the cumulative effect is instead greater and the reduction in antibodies is 10-20% for each course of antibiotics ".
In detail, the researchers found that, if measured before the booster dose, there was a 5.8% reduction in antibody levels against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis for each cycle of antibiotics;
6.8% against Haemophilus influenzae type b, 11.3% against polio, 10.4% against pneumococcus.
After the booster, the reduction will be 18.1%, 21.3%, 18.9% and 12.2% respectively.
According to Pichichero, the link between antibodies and the vaccination response in terms of antibody production needs to be explored, but in previous studies "it was seen that antibiotics have negative effects on the gut microbiome, which modulates a positive immune response".
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