Practices and recommendations in infant feeding and HIV prevention: the child's perspective.

Although the attainment of Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4), reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds by the year 2015, depends on optimizing breast-feeding practices in resource-limited settings, there are some conditions in which breast-feeding is impossible, contraindicated, or not recommended. The overall impact of involuntary nonbreast-feeding on the attainment of MDG 4 has not been documented. In industrialized and many middle-income countries replacement feeding is affordable, feasible, acceptable, sustainable, and safe and complete avoidance of breast-feeding is the norm to prevent postnatal transmission of HIV. The situation is very different in many low-income countries affected by the HIV epidemic where infants are exposed to HIV and antiretroviral (ARV) mediation through breast milk for long periods with risk of acquiring HIV infection, development of multidrug resistant HIV and short and long term toxicity associated to ARV medications. Despite the obvious needs, there is no specific research on how to make replacement feeding safer for infants with no access to breast-feeding and for whom replacement feeding is justified. Orphans, abandoned and infants of severely ill mothers unable to breast-feed, won't benefit from the research done on making breast-feeding safer for HIV exposed infants. A child rights perspective illuminates societal obligations to provide replacement feeding with infant formula milk to such infants, and to support research to make it safer at the same time that breast-feeding is promoted and protected for the general population.

Antipolyribosyl ribitol phosphate response of premature infants to primary and booster vaccination with a combined diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-hepatitis B-inactivated polio virus/Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine.

BACKGROUND: Prematurity may be a risk factor for Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine failure. This article evaluates the Haemophilus influenzae type b immunogenicity of a hexavalent diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-hepatitis B-inactivated poliovirus/Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine in preterm infants (< 37 weeks' gestation). METHODS: This was an open-label, parallel group study. Preterm (N = 94) and term infants (N = 92) received 3 doses of a diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-hepatitis B-inactivated poliovirus/Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine at 2, 4, and 6 months with a booster dose at 18 to 20 months. Antipolyribosyl ribitol phosphate antibody concentrations were determined in serum samples taken before and 1 month after primary and booster vaccination. RESULTS: Postprimary seroprotection rates (antipolyribosyl ribitol phosphate > or = 0.15 microg/mL) were lower in preterm than in term infants (92.5% vs 97.8%), with antipolyribosyl ribitol phosphate geometric mean concentrations of 2.241 vs 4.247 microg/mL. A progressive reduction in immune response to the Haemophilus influenzae type b antigen was observed with decreasing length of gestation and decreasing birth weight when cutoff > or = 1 microg/mL was considered. Prebooster seroprotection rates and antipolyribosyl ribitol phosphate geometric mean concentrations were low in both groups (antipolyribosyl ribitol phosphate > or = 1.0 microg/mL in 10.7% of preterm and 28.4% of term infants). A vigorous response to booster vaccination was seen in both groups, with no differences in postbooster seroprotection rates or antipolyribosyl ribitol phosphate geometric mean concentrations between the 2 groups (antipolyribosyl ribitol phosphate > or = 1.0 microg/mL in 100% of preterm and 98.5% of term infants). CONCLUSIONS: Primary vaccination with a hexavalent diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-hepatitis B-inactivated poliovirus/Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine at 2, 4, and 6 months with a booster dose at 18 to 20 months elicits a satisfactory antipolyribosyl ribitol phosphate response in preterm infants compared with term controls. Immunologic response decreased with decreased gestational age and birth weight.