YELLOW-FEVER VACCINATION AND PREGNANCY - A 4-YEAR PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

During an outbreak of yellow fever (YF) in Nigeria in 1986-1987, women at various stages of pregnancy were vaccinated against YF, either bec ause those pregnancies were not known at the time or because they requ ested vaccination out of fear of acquiring the disease. This offered a n opportunity to assess the safety and efficacy of YF vaccine in pregn ant women and the effect of this vaccine on their newborn children. Pr e-vaccination and post-vaccination serum samples from the vaccinated p regnant women were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and by neutralization tests for antibody to YF virus. The results showed that the antibody responses of these pregnant women were much lower than t hose of YF-vaccinated, non-pregnant women in a comparable control grou p. Follow-up of these women and their newborn children for 3-4 years s howed no abnormal effect that could be attributed to the YF vaccine, w hich suggests that vaccination of pregnant women, particularly during a YF epidemic, may not be contraindicated.