Transplacental transfer of RSV antibody in Australian First Nations infants

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infection hospitalisations in Aboriginal infants specifically those aged <6 months. Maternally derived RSV antibody (Ab) can protect against severe RSV disease in infancy. However, the efficiency of transplacental transfer of maternal anti-RSV Ab remains unknown in Aboriginal infants. We characterised RSV Ab in Australian First Nations mother-infant pairs (n = 78). We investigated impact of covariates including low birthweight, gestational age (GA), sex of the baby, maternal age and multiparity of the mother on cord to maternal anti-RSV Ab titre ratio (CMTR) using multivariable logistic regression model. All (n = 78) but one infant was born full term (median GA: 39 weeks, interquartile range: 38–40 weeks) and 56% were males. The mean log(2) RSV Ab titre was 10.7 (SD ± 1.3) in maternal serum and 11.0 (SD ± 1.3) in cord serum at birth; a ratio of 1.02 (SD ±0.06). One-third of the pairs had a CMTR of <1 indicating impaired transfer. Almost 9% (7/78) of the term infants had cord RSV Ab levels below <log(2) 9. Covariates showed no effect on CMTR. Further mechanistic research is needed to determine the significance of these findings on RSV disease in First Nations children.