Children's Health
New Research Finds Live Influenza Vaccine is Just as Safe for HIV-Infected Children
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Jul 21, 2008 - 5:04:19 PM

Live vaccine delivered through a nasal spray, simplifying the delivery for children

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - AURORA, Colo. – Between September and mid-November in 2004, 243 HIV-infected children ages 5 to 18 years, who were receiving antiretroviral therapy for their condition, were randomly assigned to receive either the live influenza vaccine delivered through a nasal spray – marketed as FluMist® – or the inactivated vaccine traditionally given through an injection into the upper arm – marketed as Fluzone®. At the end of the national study, both vaccines were deemed to be safe for children with HIV. The study results appear in the August 1 edition of Vaccine.

“Influenza has the potential to be more severe in children that have HIV and to cause bacterial complications, ultimately interfering with their medical care,” said Myron J. Levin, MD, professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the UC Denver School of Medicine and lead author of the paper. “The immune response to the live vaccine in HIV-infected children was very similar to the immune response in non-HIV-infected children, so we can say it can be used in stable, HIV-positive pediatric patients without safety concerns.”

The current FDA-recommended influenza immunization for HIV-infected adults and children is with an inactivated vaccine due to concern for how the live vaccine might behave in the lungs of HIV-infected patients. The researchers on this study found that the live, attenuated cold-adapted influenza vaccine (LAIV) was not only safe, but had potential advantages for HIV-infected children because the administration of the vaccine through a nasal spray was simplified and avoided the pain caused by injection of the inactivated vaccine. Nasal spray delivery of the live vaccine is more acceptable to most patients, thus making it more likely that they will receive influenza vaccination.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health.

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