Antibody Responses in Nasal Secretions and Serum of Elderly Persons Following Local or Parenteral Administration of Inactivated Influenza Virus Vaccine

Abstract

Nasal secretion and serum neutralizing antibody responses of 22 elderly persons to vaccination with a bivalent inactivated influenza virus vaccine by local or parenteral routes were compared. Each 1.0 ml of vaccine contained 300 chicken cell agglutination (CCA) units each of A2/Taiwan/1/64 and A2/Japan/170/62, and 600 CCA units of B/Mass/3/66 influenza virus antigens. The titers and duration of IgA antibody in nasal secretions were higher and appeared to persist longer following repeated nasopharyngeal vaccination than after a single subcutaneous immunization. The frequency and duration of serum antibody responses induced by local administration of vaccine were not significantly different from those seen following parenteral vaccination.