D80.7: Transient hypogammaglobulinaemia of infancy

The immune system protects the body from pathogens and foreign substances. The immune system can also destroy cells in the body that have pathologically changed. The body's immune system is made up of different types of immune cells. Some immune cells can destroy pathogens or foreign bodies themselves. Other immune cells produce certain antibodies. Some of the immune system’s antibodies can make pathogens and foreign substances visible to the immune system. Other antibodies attack pathogens or foreign substances directly.

Antibodies are passed from the mother to the unborn child during pregnancy. During the first months of their life, these antibodies should protect the child from pathogens. The child's own immune system then begins to increasingly produce antibodies. In some children, the immune system is slow to produce antibodies. Then the children affected have insufficient antibodies in their blood for a while.

If you do not have enough antibodies in your blood, you may be unable to properly combat various pathogens. Pathogens include bacteria, viruses and fungi, for example. The pathogens can repeatedly cause infection. The infections can affect the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract or the skin, for example. The infections may also be more severe and last longer than normal. You may also have no symptoms at all.