6533b837fe1ef96bd12a1d3f

RESEARCH PRODUCT

PREVALENCE OF PERTUSSIS IgG ANTIBODIES IN CHILDREN IN PALERMO, ITALY

G. TorresTommaso StroffoliniA. ChiariniAntonio CascioV. NicosiaF. LupoL. De CrescenzoL. NisticòA. R. ValenzaS TaorminaAnna Giammanco

subject

Microbiology (medical)Bordetella pertussisPediatricsmedicine.medical_specialtyWhooping CoughEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssaySensitivity and SpecificitySerologyPredictive Value of TestsSeroepidemiologic StudiesEpidemiologyPrevalencemedicineHumansChildAntibody prevalencebiologybusiness.industryInfantGeneral MedicineElisa assaybiology.organism_classificationPredictive valueInfectious DiseasesItalyEl NiñoChild PreschoolImmunoglobulin Gbiology.proteinAntibodybusiness

description

The prevalence of IgG antibodies to Bordetella pertussis in a sample of 615 1-12-year-old unvaccinated children in Palermo was estimated by ELISA. The overall prevalence was 56%; it increased from 24% in one to three-year-old children to 67% in 11-12-year-old children (p less than 0.01). IgG antibody prevalence was not associated with the father's years of schooling (OR 1), nor with the family size (OR 1.3; C.I. 95% = 0.8-2.2). For children aged one the three years, serological results showed that the history of pertussis reported by parents in questionnaires gave high specificity (93.2%) and negative predictive value (85.4%). Our seroepidemiological study evidences a great exposure of children to B. pertussis in Palermo, with a high proportion of infections occurring after three years of age.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
1989-09-01
http://hdl.handle.net/11570/12953