Impact of Environmental Contamination on Immunity: Implications for Childhood Vaccination Policy

摘要

As the barriers to access to routine vaccines for children in the poorest countries in the world are eroded by the contributions of a range of donors, these successes expose other factors that can impact the value of these interventions. This is especially so in those communities that are concurrently experiencing rapid industrial growth. Such growth is frequently associated with escalating environmental contamination that even the lowest levels is known to significantly impair fundamental immune functions. Maximizing the value of this new access to vaccines also must address the effects of existing and future environmental contamination. However, there remains a gap between science, public health policy and community access in understanding how this might impact a community and how best to deliver on creating an environment that optimizes the value of this improved access to new vaccines for children.