Maternal Determinants of Immunity to Influenza

Maternal Determinants of Immunity to Influenza (MADI-01)

The overall objective of the project is to determine the impact of pregnancy on the response to influenza immunization.

The study compares immune responses to influenza vaccination between a group of pregnant women and a group of non-pregnant controls women. Specifically, the study has three aims:

1. To compare the quality of antibodies induced by influenza immunization in pregnant and non-pregnant women;
2. To identify immune predictors of vaccine responses in pregnant women and compare them to the determinants of vaccine responses in non-pregnant women;
3. To identify immune predictors of the transfer of maternal antibodies to the newborn following influenza immunization during pregnancy;

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age over 18 and under 40 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Grade III/IV anemia
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection
• Active bacterial infection
• Opportunistic infection (Tuberculosis, cytomegalovirus (CMV), toxoplasmosis, etc)
• Inability to understand the nature and extent of the study and the procedures required
• Current or recent use of immunosuppressive drugs (corticosteroids, anti-tumor necrosis factors (anti-TNF), methotrexate, etc)
• Active neoplasia