24
January
2018
|
21:57
Asia/Singapore

A mother’s antibodies may worsen dengue infection in her baby: NUS study

The findings of a research led by Assoc Prof Sylvie Alonso from the Dept of Microbiology and Immunology at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, showed that a mother’s antibodies, which help to protect her baby against dengue virus infection, can also, in some situations, be harmful. This is because the maternal antibodies which are transmitted to her baby during pregnancy can enhance the severity of dengue infection in the baby, or interfere with their immunisation.