Image via Wikipedia

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21492825

Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Jun;204(6 Suppl 1):S141-8. Epub 2011 Feb 23.

Impact of maternal immunization on influenza hospitalizations in infants.

Poehling KA, Szilagyi PG, Staat MA, Snively BM, Payne DC, Bridges CB, Chu SY, Light LS, Prill MM, Finelli L, Griffin MR,Edwards KM; New Vaccine Surveillance Network.

Source

Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.

Abstract

We sought to determine whether maternal vaccination during pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalizations in infants <6 months old. Active population-based, laboratory-confirmed influenza surveillance was conducted in children hospitalized with fever and/or respiratory symptoms in 3 US counties from November through April during the 2002 through 2009 influenza seasons. The exposure, influenza vaccination during pregnancy, and the outcome, positive/negative influenza testing among their hospitalized infants, were compared using logistic regression analyses. Among 1510 hospitalized infants <6 months old, 151 (10%) had laboratory-confirmed influenza and 294 (19%) mothers reported receiving influenza vaccine during pregnancy. Eighteen (12%) mothers of influenza-positive infants and 276 (20%) mothers of influenza-negative infants were vaccinated (unadjusted odds ratio, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.88 and adjusted odds ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.30-0.91). Infants of vaccinated mothers were 45-48% less likely to have influenza hospitalizations than infants of unvaccinated mothers. Our results support the current influenza vaccination recommendation for pregnant women.

Related articles

• Influenza vaccination during pregnancy protects newborns (medicalxpress.com)
• Influenza vaccination during pregnancy protects newborns (scienceblog.com)
• Influenza B on the rise in SA (radioadelaidebreakfast.wordpress.com)
• Flu Vaccine May Reduce Premature Birth Risk (webmd.com)
• Flu Shots for Pregnant Women Also Protect Newborns (nlm.nih.gov)
• Flu shot during pregnancy can protect baby: U.S. study (windsorstar.com)
• Tracking a moving target (medicalxpress.com)
• Can someone die from avian influenza virus? (zocdoc.com)
• Link between influenza vaccination in pregnancy and reduced risk of premature birth (eurekalert.org)
• Is the avian influenza virus still a threat? (zocdoc.com)