Immune responses to typhoid conjugate vaccine in a two dose schedule among Nepalese children <2 years of age.
Bijukchhe SM., Gurung M., Pokhrel B., Shakya M., Pant D., Maskey P., Maskey H., Dhakal B., Rajkarkinar S., Bista S., Voysey M., Mujadidi YF., Kim YC., Atherton R., Jones E., Mclean F., Shrestha S., Hill M., Nyland KT., Kelly S., O'reilly P., Sah GP., Basnyat B., Pollard AJ., Shrestha S.
BackgroundPreviously, the Vi-typhoid conjugate vaccine (Vi-TT) was found to be highly efficacious in Nepalese children under 16 years of age. We assessed the immunogenicity of Vi-TT at 9 and 12 months of age and response to a booster dose at 15 months of age.MethodsInfants were recruited at Patan Hospital, Kathmandu and received an initial dose of Vi-TT at 9 or 12 months of age with a booster dose at 15 months of age. Blood was taken at four timepoints, and antibody titres were measured using a commercial ELISA kit. The primary study outcome was seroconversion (4-fold rise in antibody titre) of IgG one month after both the doses.FindingsFifty children were recruited to each study group.Some visits were disrupted by the COVID19 pandemic and occurred out of protocol windows.Both the study groups attained 100 % IgG seroconversion after the initial dose. IgG seroconversion in the 9-month group was significantly higher than in the 12-month group (68.42 % vs 25.8 %, p InterpretationVi-TT is highly immunogenic at both 9 and 12 months of age. Stronger response to a booster in the 9-month group is likely due to the longer interval between doses.