One thing we must consider is the health of the person consuming the sugar in question. Those with immune diseases, diabetes, leukemia and digestive disorders (among other conditions) are going to have different experiences on health in this case than the average, healthy individual. Age and body size can also affect the case related to this question, partially, due to the body mass to sugar intake ratio. Of course a 40lbs child will be more effected by the large quantities of sugar than a 150lbs adult.
So, for the sake of this discussion we are going to assume that the individuals consuming the sugar is a healthy, average sized adult with no health conditions that will increase or decrease the effects of the sugar on the body.
The background
The only study discussing sugar and the immune system revolves around the behavior of neutrophils. Neutrophils are one type of immune cell found in the body. They are often in the blood but can also be found at sites of infection or cancer. These cells are usually the first ones to respond to infection or cancer due to their phagocytic nature, i.e. they come in and devour the foreign or cancerous cells. There are several types of neutrophils that respond to different stimuli. The study does not seem to list which type(s) of neutrophils they are observing. This is problematic for deducing the actual impact of the sugar on the specific parts of the immune system.
The 1973 study I read started with individuals who have fasted. This means that they have not consumed food in 12-24 hours. Their body would be processing stored sugars at this point after exhausting the blood sugar (sugar in the blood). The subjects are then dosed with 20 or more teaspoons of sugar (different sources are used in studies such as honey, fructose, glucose, etc.) are then administered. After a wait time blood is drawn and added to a culture of bacteria. The neutrophil or other white blood cell activity is observed.
What did I find?
Aside from the 1973 study, which by science standards would be considered way out of date, I didn't uncover any scientific papers in peer reviewed journals that discussed humans and sugar intake. I was very disappointed as I searched around many distributors such as PubMed, EBSCOHost and several others and found nothing. I even tried different sugars to see if there would be papers for glucose or fructose instead of just sugar. I had no luck. I did find lots and lots of blogs and unreferenced sources that harken back to the 1973 study or no study at all.
What does that mean? Well there is one, outdated source, that suggest there may be a link. I say outdated because in most fields, particularly medicine, articles over 10 years old are considered sketchy to use and those 20 years or more are considered obsolete. The study suggests that it is the large inflow of sugar into the blood stream after fasting that depresses the immune system. The neutrophils are still working just a little slower.
Does this mean I will get sick from drinking a can of soda? No, probably not. Everything in moderation is how I have always felt. Perhaps with the recent interest in the subject more studies will be done to clarify what the outcome truly is. Below are links to the study and some relevant sources. Sadly, I can't give a better answer to this question until there is more research to read.
Sources:
Information about White Blood Cells
Blog Post about Immune System Cells
1973 Study most often cited
Blog post summarizing the study.
USA Today discussion of the study
Mouse Study - Note that the mice here are give 50g/kg of sugars which is much, much higher sugar to body weight dose than was used in the human study.
Another article that examines the study and raises the fact that no studies have really been conducted since 1973.
Another mouse study but it isn't only high sugar given but also high fat and cholesterol.
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