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Background and objective Previous studies from areas with high mortality in West Africa have not found diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine to be associated with the expected reduction in mortality, a few studies suggesting increased mortality. We therefore examined mortality when DTP was first introduced in rural areas of Guinea-Bissau in 1984–1987.

Setting Twenty villages in four regions have been followed with bi-annual examinations since 1979.

Subjects In all, 1657 children aged 2–8 months.

Design Children were weighed when attending the bi-annual examinations and they were vaccinated whenever vaccines were available. DTP was introduced in the beginning of 1984, oral polio vaccine later that year. We examined mortality for children aged 2–8 months who had received DTP and compared them with children who had not been vaccinated because …