Overview

A Trial Investigating the Influence of BCG and Hepatitis B Immunisation at Birth on Neonatal Immune Responses: The Early Life Vaccines and Immunity Study

Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2016-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Neonatal morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases is of global concern. Childhood disease-specific immunisation is irrefutably linked to the decline in deaths from these targeted infections over the last century. However, neonatal immunisation is limited, in part, by the impaired adaptive immune function in this age group. There is now an expanding body of evidence for heterologous ('non-specific') effects of various vaccines used in childhood. This refers to the immunomodulatory capabilities of vaccines to influence immune outcomes beyond the vaccine's specific targeted disease. The underlying immunological mechanisms responsible for these effects are incompletely understood, but evidence is mounting that the innate immune system is central to these observed effects. This study is a randomised controlled trial designed to determine the influence of two commonly administered neonatal immunisations, BCG and Hepatitis B vaccine, given at birth, on the neonatal immune responses to non-specific antigens. The investigators will recruit 200 newborns at the Mercy Hospital for Women in Melbourne, Australia over a 1-year period. These babies will be allocated randomly to one of 4 groups, receiving these 2 vaccines in different combinations, at 2 set time points. (at birth and 1 week post randomisation) A blood sample will be taken at 1-week post randomisation for in vitro immunological analyses. This study will improve current understanding of the influence of vaccines on neonatal immunity and will help develop strategies exploiting beneficial heterologous ('non-specific') effects to improve protection against infection in the very young.
Phase:
N/A
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Collaborators:
Mercy Hospital for Women, Australia
Royal Children's Hospital
Treatments:
BCG Vaccine
Vaccines