People’s social connections play a critical role in determining whether they adopt preventative health measures that could help to reduce the spread of diseases such as malaria.

A study led by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute has established the importance of immunoglobulin A, an antibody that is part of the immune system, in generating a response to pneumonia vaccines.

Researchers have found that the absence of this antibody leads to an overgrowth of gut microbiota, triggering an excessive and sustained immune system response, which ultimately becomes exhausted and fails to respond effectively to vaccines.

The study, published in Science Advances, opens the door to exploring the possibility of early immunoglobulin therapy administration to prevent this process and reduce the risk of potentially dangerous infections, even in at-risk individuals without a diagnosed immunodeficiency