Garner-Spitzer et al.
Allergic patients with and without allergen-specific immunotherapy mount protective immune responses to tick-borne encephalitis vaccination in absence of enhanced side effects or propagation of their Th2 bias.
Vaccine 2018; 36: 2816-2824
Allergic diseases which are caused by Th2-driven immune responses can be treated by specific immunotherapy (SIT) acting by immunomodulation. When vaccination is carried out during the phase of SIT, questions arise about safety and vaccine efficacy. Because only limited data have been determined so far, the authors decided to analyze TBE vaccination in three patient groups – i) allergic patients undergoing SIT (n=21), ii) allergic patients receiving no treatment (N=49) and iii) non-allergic control (49). All individuals had received a documented primary course of TBE vaccination and at least one booster dose. The level and kinetics of neutralizing TBE-specific antibodies did not significantly differ in the three groups. Overall, the incidence of side effects after TBE booster in both allergic groups did not differ from the control group and no exacerbations of allergic symptoms were observed.