Boston, USA
For moms-to-be looking to protect their babies, a study confirms what scientists have assumed for years: flu shots given to pregnant women a month or more before delivery results in the immunization being passed on to the buns in their ovens. Such vaccinations usually remain effective for the first six months of the baby's life. Since newborns are not authorized to receive flu shots during this time period, a mother's vaccination helps bridge the gap: a time when babies are particularly susceptible to get the flu. Centers for Disease Control have been recommending pregnant women get their flu shots since 1997, but the advice tends to go ignored: only about 15% of expectant mothers are vaccinated each year. Specialists are hoping that this concrete proof will inspire more moms to get their flu shots during the high-risk fall months.
"Immunize the mother and you protect the infant," Dr. Mark Steinhoff, a pediatrician with the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. "This might persuade more mothers to say, 'Hey, it really helps me and it really helps the baby,'"
In the test of 340 pregnant women in Bangladesh, the shots cut the risk of flu by 63 percent and the risk of respiratory illness overall by 29 percent. There were six confirmed cases of influenza in the vaccinated group, compared to 16 among the mothers given a different vaccine.
The injections also lowered the likelihood of fever and respiratory illness among the mothers by 36 percent.
http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN1726328620080917
