Vitamin A supplementation of young infants

A meta-analysis of several large trials established that vitamin A supplementation of 6-month-old to 5-year-old children living in areas where vitamin A deficiency is a problem can reduce their risk of dying by an average of 23%.1 However, published studies are less conclusive about whether supplementation in the first 6 months of life is needed, safe, or provides any benefit. The most recent contribution to this debate was the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI)-linked placebo-controlled trial2 in which breastfeeding mothers received 200 000 IU vitamin A (1 μmol=286 retinol equivalents=953 IU) at delivery and their infants were given 25 000 IU with all of three immunisation contacts before 5 months of age.