Prevention of Influenza Episodes With Colostrum Compared with Vaccination

in Healthy and High-Risk Cardiovascular Subjects: The Epidemiologic Study in San Valentino

MARIA ROSARIA CESARONE, GIANNI BELCARO, ANDREA DI RENZO, MARK DUGALL, MARISA CACCHIO, IRMA RUFFINI, LUCIANO PELLEGRINI, GILBERTO DEL BOCCIO, FILIBERTO FANO, ANDREA LEDDA, ANGELICA BOTTARI, ANDREA RICCI, STEFANO STUARD, AND GIULIA VINCIGUERRA

From San Valentino-Spoltore Vascular Screening Project, Department of Biomedical Sciences, G D’annunzio University, Chieti, Pescara, Italy.

Abstract
The efficacy of a 2-month treatment with oral colostrum in the prevention of flu episodes compared with antiinfluenza vaccination was evaluated. Groups included healthy subjects without prophylaxis and those receiving both vaccination and colostrum. After 3 months of follow-up, the number of days with flu was 3 times higher in the non-colostrum subjects. The colostrum group had 13 episodes versus 14 in the colostrum + vaccination group, 41 in the group without prophylaxis, and 57 in nontreated subjects. Part 2 of the study had a similar protocol with 65 very high-risk cardiovascular subjects, all of whom had prophylaxis. The incidence of complications and hospital admission was higher in the group that received only a vaccination compared with the colostrum groups. Colostrum, both in healthy subjects and high-risk cardiovascular patients, is at least 3 times more effective than vaccination to prevent flu and is very cost-effective.

Key Words: influenza prevention • colostrum • vaccination

Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis, Vol. 13, No. 2, 130-136 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1076029606295957