Placental malaria may limit antibody transfer to the fetus. We compare
d concentrations of tetanus antibody in paired maternal-cord sera from
224 women living in a malarious area of Papua New Guinea. With heavy
placental infection ( > 35 parasites per 200 white cells) the average
cold tetanus antibody corresponding to a maternal level of 1 IU/mL was
0.18 (95% Cl 0.12-0.26); corresponding figures after light (<35 paras
ites per 200 white cells) or no infection were 0.23 (0.14-0.34) and 0
82 (0.57-1.21), respectively. About 10% of babies born to mothers with
a placenta heavily infected with Plasmodium falciparum may fail to ac
quire protective levels of tetanus antibody despite adequate maternal
antibody.