Baylor studying flu vaccine in pregnant women

HOUSTON -- (July 6, 2009) -- The Vaccine Treatment and Evaluation Unit at Baylor College of Medicine, part of a clinical trials network sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, is conducting a research study to evaluate immune responses and safety of seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine in pregnant women.

"Pregnant women are at a higher risk for serious complications following influenza, and are recommended to receive influenza vaccine. This study is one of the few that will evaluate antibody responses in pregnant women after vaccination," said Dr. Shital Patel, principal investigator of the study and assistant professor of medicine – infectious diseases at BCM.

Patel said that this information will be important to develop strategies to protect this high-risk group from seasonal and pandemic influenza.

BCM is the lead site of this multicenter clinical trial: Up to 200 women will be recruited at 9 sites across the nation. For more information about clinical studies conducted at the BCM site, call the Baylor Vaccine Research Center at 713-798-4912, or send an e-mail to momfluvax@bcm.edu.

Additional information is also available from http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00905125?term=pregnancy+seasonal+flu&rank=1.