{"id":9248,"date":"2024-05-13T18:19:34","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T10:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=9248"},"modified":"2024-05-13T18:19:58","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T10:19:58","slug":"birth-by-c-section-more-than-doubles-odds-of-measles-vaccine-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/birth-by-c-section-more-than-doubles-odds-of-measles-vaccine-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Birth by C-section more than doubles odds of measles vaccine failure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A single dose of the measles jab is up to 2.6 times more likely to be completely ineffective in children born by C-section, compared to those born naturally. This is because the failure of the vaccine means that the child\u2019s immune system does not produce antibodies to fight against measles infection, so they remain susceptible to the disease.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is according to a study, “Birth by C-section more than doubles odds of measles vaccine failure”, that appeared in Nature Microbiology<\/em> journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For thus study, the researchers used data from previous studies of over 1,500 children in Hunan, China, which included blood samples taken every few weeks from birth to the age of 12. This allowed them to see how levels of measles antibodies in the blood change over the first few years of life, including following vaccination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers found that 12% of children born via caesarean section had no immune response to their first measles vaccination, as compared to 5% of children born by vaginal delivery. This means that many of the children born by C-section did still mount an immune response following their first vaccination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measles is a highly infectious disease, and even low vaccine failure rates can significantly increase the risk of an outbreak. A second measles jab was found to induce a robust immunity against measles in C-section children.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A potential reason for this effect is linked to the development of the infant\u2019s gut microbiome \u2013 the vast collection of microbes that naturally live inside the gut. Other studies have shown that vaginal birth transfers a greater variety of microbes from mother to baby, which can boost the immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve discovered that the way we\u2019re born – either by C-section or natural birth – has long-term consequences on our immunity to diseases as we grow up,\u201d said Professor Henrik Salje in the University of Cambridge\u200b\u2019s Department of Genetics, joint senior author of the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cWe know that a lot of children don’t end up having their second measles jab, which is dangerous for them as individuals and for the wider population. Infants born by C-section are the ones we really want to be following up to make sure they get their second measles jab, because their first jab is much more likely to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An increasing number of women around the world are choosing to give birth by caesarean section. “With a C-section birth, children aren\u2019t exposed to the mother\u2019s microbiome in the same way as with a vaginal birth. We think this means they take longer to catch up in developing their gut microbiome, and with it, the ability of the immune system to be primed by vaccines against diseases including measles,\u201d said Salje.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two doses of the measles jab are needed for the body to mount a long-lasting immune response and protect against measles.\u00a0According to the World Health Organisation<\/a>,in 2022 only 83% of the world’s children had received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday \u2013 the lowest since 2008.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Salje said: \u201cVaccine hesitancy is really problematic, and measles is top of the list of diseases we\u2019re worried about because it\u2019s so infectious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measles is one of the world\u2019s most contagious diseases, spread by coughs and sneezes. It starts with cold-like symptoms and a rash, and can lead to serious complications including blindness, seizures, and death. Before the measles vaccine was introduced in 1963, there were major measles epidemics every few years causing an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A single dose of the measles jab is up to 2.6 times more likely to be completely ineffective in children born by C-section, compared to those born naturally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":9250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2138,1678,1828,2137,804],"class_list":["post-9248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsmakers","tag-parental-advice","tag-parental-care","tag-parenting","tag-parenting-tips","tag-pregnancy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9248"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9251,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9248\/revisions\/9251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}