Concentration and avidity of anti-tetanus antibodies in mother-infant pairs: Relation to immunization time

Abstract The concentration and avidity of anti-tetanus antibodies in two groups of mother-infant pairs were compared. Mothers immunized during pregnancy and their newbons (group A) had significantly higher antibody concentrations than mothers immunized at least a year before their last pregnancy and their newborns (group B) as measured by an indirect enzyme immunoassay (EIA) procedure. Antibody avidity of samples was measured by an inhibition EIA technique and urea denaturation test. Although antibody avidity was higher in group B, the differences were not significant. These findings may represent a secondary antibody response to a protein antigen, when considering that all mothers in both groups had received a primary tetanus vaccination during childhood. In mothers with a history of primary tetanus immunization, a single booster dose of tetanus toxoid during pregnancy is enough to induce protective levels of antibodies with reasonably high avidity in both mother and newborn.