Supplementation with Zinc, but Not Vitamin A, Improves Seroconversion to Vibriocidal Antibody in Children Given an Oral Cholera Vaccine

M. John Albert, Firdausi Qadri, Mohammad A. Wahed, Tanvir Ahmed, A. S. M. Hamidur Rahman, Firoz Ahmed, Nurul A. Bhuiyan, K. Zaman, Abdullah H. Baqui, John D. Clemens, Robert E. Black
2003 Journal of Infectious Diseases  
To investigate whether micronutrient supplementation could improve the vibriocidal antibody response of children to a killed oral cholera vaccine, 2-5-year-old children were randomly assigned to receive vitamin A and zinc (AZ group), vitamin A and a placebo (A group), zinc and a placebo (Z group), or both placebos (P group). All children received 2 doses of the vaccine. The number of children who had a у4-fold increase in vibriocidal antibody was significantly greater in the AZ group than in
more » ... P group ( ). Factorial P p .025-.028 analysis suggested that the proportion of children with a у4-fold increase in vibriocidal antibody titer was significantly greater in the zinc-supplemented groups than in the groups that did not receive zinc (P p ) and that vitamin A supplementation did not have a significant effect. Thus, supplementation with .013-.048 zinc improves seroconversion to vibriocidal antibody and, hence, has the potential to improve the efficacy of oral cholera vaccine in children. The protective efficacy of a killed oral cholera vaccine [1] and serum vibriocidal antibody levels [2], a marker of protection against cholera, have been found to be low in 2-5-year-old children (the age group most susceptible to cholera) in Bangladesh. Some vaccines stimulate a better immune response in populations in developed countries than in those in developing countries
doi:10.1086/368132 pmid:12660937 fatcat:baruoyup7vfhjg5b3intx2aljy