United States: Babies born by C-section are not going to get the protection from a single dose of measles vaccine, a new study shows.
New Study Findings
A single measles jab is worth up to 2.6 times more likely to be totally useless in C-section babies compared to those born vaginally. Their immune systems do not generate antibodies in order to combat the measles infection, as reported by HealthDay.
Nevertheless, scientists report May 13 in the journal Nature Microbiology that a second follow-up jab turns out to be a strong immunity against measles.
“We’ve discovered that the way we’re born — either by C-section or natural birth — has long-term consequences on our immunity to diseases as we grow up,” said co-senior study author Henrik Salje, a lecturer in genetics at the University of Cambridge in the U.K.
Researchers stated in the background notes that measles is very contagious, and even small vaccine failure rates can greatly raise the chances of an outbreak.
Prior to the measles vaccine being introduced in 1963, measles claimed an estimated two lives every year. According to the researchers, the number of deaths is 6 million each year. The disease begins as a flu-like cold with a distinctive rash and can result in severe complications such as blindness, seizures, and even death.
Long-Term Immunological Impact
Having a C-section birth, children don’t get the mother’s microbiome in the same way as with a vaginal birth, Salje said. “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.”
Scientists think the high rate of C-section babies’ failure is caused by the difference in their gut microbes. Vaginal birth is the way to share a large number of microbes from mother to baby, and thus, the immune system is protected.
Having a C-section birth, children don’t get the mother’s microbiome in the same way as with a vaginal birth, Salje said. “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.”
Prevalence of C-Section Births
As per March of Dimes, approximately one of the third of the babies are born through C- section.
For the research, the data was taken from a study of more than 1,500 children in Hunan, China, who had their blood samples taken from them every few weeks from birth to age 12.
The rate of children born through C-section with no immune response to their first measles jab was about 12%, compared to 5% of children born vaginally, as the results proved.
Thus, the majority of C-section kids had no measles protection after their first vaccination.
Two doses of the measles jab are needed for the body to build a long-lasting immune response, but only 83% of kids around the world got one dose by their first birthday in 2022, the lowest rate since 2008, researchers said, as reported by HealthDay.
“Vaccine hesitancy is really problematic, and measles is top of the list of diseases we’re worried about because it’s so infectious,” Salje said.
