Influence of breast-feeding and oral poliovirus vaccine on the immunogenicity and efficacy of rotavirus vaccines.

To be practical and cost effective, rotavirus vaccines will have to be administered to infants with routine childhood vaccinations. Rotavirus vaccine studies were reviewed to evaluate the effect of breast-feeding and concurrent oral poliovirus vaccination (OPV) on the immunogenicity and efficacy of oral rotavirus vaccines. Both breast-feeding and OPV appeared to interfere, to some degree, with the serum immune response to rotavirus vaccines; however, the effects were usually not statistically significant and were largely overcome by administering three doses of rotavirus vaccine rather than one. Available data show no decrease in the protective efficacy of rotavirus vaccine in breast-fed children or in children receiving concurrent OPV, but larger sample sizes will be required to definitely rule out any effect.