Pneumococcal vaccine modestly effective in HIV patients on HAART.

2003 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is only modestly effective in HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

"Whether HAART impacts responses to 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PV) is not known. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels for six capsular polysaccharides in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients who had received greater than or equal to6 months of HAART were measured either after their first dose of PV (n=46) or after revaccination (n=41); control subjects had never received HAART and had received the first dose of PV (n=38)," investigators in the United States report.

"There were no significant differences in pre- or postvaccination IgG levels among these groups but for one capsular polysaccharide," stated Maria C. Rodriguez-Barradas and collaborators at Baylor College of Medicine and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "The three groups had significant postvaccination increases in IgG levels to all capsular polysaccharides. The control group had a greater number of two-fold responses than did the combined HAART groups (p

The researchers concluded, "The immunogenicity of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine among patients receiving long-term HAART is modest. It seems best to immunize HIV-infected patients early in ...