Exploring the relationship between environmental enteric dysfunction and oral vaccine responses

This paper discusses the links between environmental enteric dysfunction and oral vaccine responses. It was conducted by Church et al. (2018) and published in Future Microbiology. This is a crucial area of research as underperformance of oral vaccines in low-income countries has been partly attributed to environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) – a subclinical disorder of small intestinal structure and function among children living in poverty. Church et al. review 8 studies exploring EED and oral vaccine responses. Four studies reported a negative association between EED and oral vaccine responses; two showed no significant association; and two described a positive correlation. The authors conclude that the current evidence is therefore insufficient to determine the nature of the relationship between EED and oral vaccine underperformance.