Seroconversion following D. P. T. vaccine: effect of storage conditions

[Nirvana]

http://www.springerlink.com/content/45h522452x751884/


Seroconversion following D. P. T. vaccine: effect of storage conditions

Abstract Effect of storage of D.P.T. vaccine in a clay pot surrounded by wet sand was studied by measuring antibody titres and observing post vaccination complications. The vaccine stored for 30 days failed to induce protective titre of antibody against pertussis in 12.5% of children, whereas that stored for 60 days failed to produce protective titres in 21.4, 14.3 and 28.6% of children for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis respectively. Complication rates for local reaction increased from 10.6 to 35.7% and for fever from 19.4 to 64.3% from control cases to children who received the 60 day-stored vaccine. The practice of such storage is most inadvisable.

The attached PDF shows how an under-developed country like India store vaccines before administration which in turn affects the outcome.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

1981 huh? I wonder if this practice still exists?

[Nirvana]

I don't know but I do know that for OPV vaccination in Mumbai, government workers carry the OPV vaccine in a small thermos flask and go from home to home checking if there are small children/infants and then administer two drops orally. The way they identify these children is by marking a small spot on the little toe with indelible ink. I have even seen these workers stand outside malls and establishments asking people to get their kids vaccinated. How long can the OPV vaccine be stored in a thermos flask?

[Nirvana]

This is an old paper but the awareness back then about the importance of cold chain for vaccines was dismal! They were dreaming of a polio-free India by 2000! It's more than 10 years since then but the dream of a polio-free India looks distant even now.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Yeah, but there are other questions too: