Influenza vaccinations in children and adolescents protect broader community

January 01, 0001

Influenza vaccinations in children and adolescents protect broader community

Children and adolescents may have an important role in the transmission of influenza, and immunizing this population may preventt virus transmission and protect those not immunized. This group on Canadian and WHO researchers sought to test this notion using a cluster randomized trial involving 947 Canadian children and adolescents aged 36 months to 15 years of age compared with over 2000 other community members in 49 Hutterite colonies in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Children were randomly assigned by colony in a blinded manner to receive standard dosing of either inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine or hepatitis A vaccine. Influenza A and B infection was measured using a real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay and by measuring serum hemagglutination inhibition titers.

The researchers report: "The mean rate of study vaccine coverage among eligible participants was 83% (range, 53%-100%) for the influenza vaccine colonies and 79% (range, 50%-100%) for the hepatitis A vaccine colonies. Among nonrecipients, 39 of 1271 (3.1%) in the influenza vaccine colonies and 80 of 1055 (7.6%) in the hepatitis A vaccine colonies had influenza illness confirmed by RT-PCR, for a protective effectiveness of 61%. Among all study participants (those who were and those who were not vaccinated), 80 of 1773 (4.5%) in the influenza vaccine colonies and 159 of 1500 (10.6%) in the hepatitis A vaccine colonies had influenza illness confirmed by RT-PCR for an overall protective effectiveness of 59%. No serious vaccine adverse events were observed."

The authors concluded: "Immunizing children and adolescents with inactivated influenza vaccine significantly protected unimmunized residents of rural communities against influenza."

This study supports a benefits of influenza vaccination in children and adolescents to a wider population.

For the full abstract, click here.

JAMA 303(10):943-950, March 10, 2010 © 2010 the American Medical Association
Effect of Influenza Vaccination of Children on Infection Rates in Hutterite Communities- A Randomized Trial. Mark Loeb, Margaret L. Russell, Lorraine Moss, et al. Correspondence to Mark Loeb: [email protected]

Category: B. Blood/Immune Mechanisms. Keywords: influenza, influenza vaccine, adolescents, children, unimmunized population, randomized controlled trial, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Paul Schaefer, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 9 April 2010

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