Serologic Response of Infants to a Multiple Vaccine for Simultaneous Immunization Against Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, and Polio-myelitis, in Relation to the Presence of Specific Maternal Antibody

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Abstract
Forty-eight infants from 2 to 4 months of age were injected 3 times at intervals of 1 month with 0.5 ml of a multiple vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and poliomyelitis. Thirty-one of the children received an additional or booster dose from 6 to 12 months later. Serologic tests on prevaccination blood specimens revealed that very few of the infants had detectable antibodies to diphtheria, tetanus, or pertussis, but the majority of them had poliomyelitis antibodies at this time. The response of the majority of the infants to the poliomyelitis components of the vaccine was definitely poorer than to the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis components. The lower serologic response to the poliomyelitis antigens was clearly associated with the presence of maternally acquired passive antibodies in the infant''s serum at the time of vaccination. The few children who had prevaccination antibodies to diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis also had poorer response than did those who were negative before vaccination. The suppressive effect of maternal antibodies affected not only the primary, but also the booster response to the several antigenic components; tetanus antibody production seemed to be least influenced. The significance of the findings is discussed.