[h=1]Is Chemical Exposure in Mothers, Babies, Linked to Poor Vaccine Response?[/h] Wed, 12/09/2015 - 2:28pm
Comments by UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER Early life exposures to toxic chemicals such as PCBs and DDT dampen an infant's response to the tuberculosis vaccine, according to a new study from the University of Rochester Environmental Health Sciences Center.
The significance of the study extends far beyond TB vaccine responses and exposures to these two chemicals, said Todd Jusko, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UR Departments of Environmental Medicine and Public Health Sciences, who led the study. "There are thousands of pollutants similar to PCBs and DDT with unknown health implications," he said. "Our work provides a foundation for how these types of chemicals affect the developing immune system in infants around the world."
The two primary chemicals studied in the UR paper--polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and DDE, the main breakdown product of the insecticide DDT--are among the world's most persistent pollutants. (Persistent pollutants are not easily degraded and thus remain a health threat long after they are banned.)
PCBs were used in manufacturing and in consumer products in the United States until their ban in 1979. Despite this, nearly all people have detectable concentrations in their blood, even those who live in unindustrialized areas around the globe. DDT, although banned in the U.S., is still used in some countries to control malaria spread by mosquitos...
