ABSTRACT
Protection from disease by bolstering the natural defenses of the human body has kindled the interest of mankind for decades. The Chinese sought to counter the deadly smallpox through inoculation of the patient with material from smallpox lesions. Jenner in England in 1796 injected material from cowpox scabs to modify the virulent smallpox. These crude experiments were frequently disastrous. From these early beginnings to the present, where targeted immunoglobulins are emerging for various infections, it has been an incredible march through painstaking laboratory and clinical investigations. The neonate may be considered physiologically immunodeficient, and the preterm infant severely deficient. Therefore, it is understandable that immunotherapy is a tempting option in neonatal infections.
