The Effect of Antibiotic Use on Children’s Immunity

Abstract

Antibiotics have profoundly reduced child mortality from infections (the “Golden Age” of antibiotics began with penicillin in 1928), but their overuse now threatens both resistance and immune development. This paper examines evidence that early-life antibiotic exposure can impair immune maturation and vaccine responses. We synthesize global studies (Europe, North America, Asia) and new data showing that infants given antibiotics often develop weaker immune responses later. For example, infants given antibiotics at birth had significantly lower vaccine-antibody levels at 7-24 months, and a large Icelandic cohort found higher infection and asthma rates in antibiotic-exposed children. We review international and regional literature and describe a Libyan pediatric cohort study. Key findings show that early antibiotic courses blunt adaptive immunity (reducing vaccine titers) and alter immune biomarkers. In a pyelonephritis patient cohort, effective antibiotic therapy led to rapid declines in serum IL-6 (↓53%) and urinary IgG (↓61%), whereas TNF-α and CRP were unchanged. These results align with past reports that antibiotics dampen inflammatory cytokines and related antibodies (especially IL-6 and IgA) but leave baseline TNF-α/CRP largely unaffected. We conclude that judicious antibiotic use is vital: clinicians should minimize unnecessary pediatric prescriptions and bolster antibiotic stewardship and education. Regions like North Africa, where antibiotic misuse is common, urgently need further study of antibiotics’ long-term immune effects.