Vitamin A supplements, routine immunization, and the subsequent risk ofinfection among children under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa
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Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Recent studies, partly based on murine models, suggest childhood immunization and vitamin A supplements may confer protection against malaria infection, although strong evidence to support these theories in humans has so far been lacking. We analyzed national survey data from children aged 6–59 months in four sub-Saharan African countries over an 18-month time period, to determine the risk of Plasmodium spp. parasitemia (n=8390) and Plasmodium falciparum HRP-2 (PfHRP-2)-related antigenemia (n=6121) following vitamin A supplementation and standard vaccination. Bacille Calmette Guerin-vaccinated children were more likely to be PfHRP-2 positive (relative risk [RR]=4.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.00–8.28). No association was identified with parasitemia. Measles and polio vaccination were not associated with malaria. Children receiving vitamin A were less likely to present with parasitemia (RR=0.46, 95% CI=0.39–0.54) and antigenemia (RR=0.23, 95% CI=0.17–0.29). Future studies focusing on climate seasonality, placental malaria and HIV are needed to characterize better the association between vitamin A and malaria infection in different settings.
Date Issued
2015-02-03
Date Acceptance
2015-01-08
Citation
eLife, 2015, 4
ISSN
2050-084X
Publisher
eLife Sciences Publications
Journal / Book Title
eLife
Volume
4
Copyright Statement
© 2015, Hollm-Delgado et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e03925