Newborn infants have little or no secretory IgA (SIgA) at birth. Earlier studies suggest that premature infants do not significantly differ from term babies in their rate of acquisition of SIgA.

Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is a common illness. Recent studies have shown that suppression of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) is associated with increased incidence of URTI. Objective: ...