Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: It has been proposed that helminth infection may be particularly detrimental during pregnancy, through adverse effects on maternal anaemia and on birth outcomes, and that anthelminthic treatment during pregnancy will therefore be particularly beneficial. However, the few treatment trials that have been conducted have given, but little support to this notion and further trials in settings of nutritional stress are needed. It has also been proposed that prenatal exposure to helminth infection has an important effect on the development of the foetal immune response. There is evidence that this may impact, long-term, upon responses to helminth and nonhelminth antigens, and to allergens. Exposure to helminths in utero may also have nonspecific effects that may modify the offspring's susceptibility to diseases mediated by inflammation, including metabolic disorders. The mechanisms of such effects are not known, but they deserve to be explored as current epidemiological findings suggest the possibility of primary prevention for inflammatory conditions such as allergy, through intervention during pregnancy.
Source: Parasite Immunology
DOI: 10.1111/pim.12101
Authors: H. Mpairwe, R. Tweyongyere, A. Elliott
Language: English
Subfield: Parasitology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,403
Funders: Wellcome Trust, European Commission
Awards: G119964413, The impact of helminths on the response to immunisation and on the incidence of infection and disease in childhood in Uganda., G1410100215, G2468189520, Helminths and Allergy in Uganda., The impact of helminths on the response to immunisation and on susceptibility to infectious diseases in childhood in Uganda., Dissecting the Immunological Interplay between Poverty Related Diseases and Helminth Infections: An African-European Research Initiative, Infection and Immunity Research and Training for Uganda.
OpenAlex ID: W2000426353