6533b860fe1ef96bd12c3c2c

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Prevalence of diphtheria toxin antibodies in human sera from a cross-section of the Italian population.

G TarsitaniGiovanni GabuttiMauro BergaminiS LiberatoreE. FragapaneP. CrovariRoberto GaspariniT PozziFrancesca AjelloR. SeveriniM. CocchioniP Della PietraNicola ComodoL CastagnariA GrilliA. Lo NostroA Moiraghi-ruggeniniMaria Grazia PellegriniPaolo BonanniCarla Maria ZottiP. Fabrizi

subject

MaleCross-sectional studySerologySeroepidemiologic StudiesPrevalenceCluster AnalysisDiphtheria ToxinChildAged 80 and overeducation.field_of_studybiologyImmunoenzyme techniquesDiphtheriaMiddle AgedAntibodies BacterialInfectious DiseasesItalyChild PreschoolCross-sectional studiesMolecular MedicineFemaleAdults; Cross-sectional studies; Diphtheria; Diphtheria antitoxin; Immunoenzyme techniques; ItalyAntibodyAdultDiphtheria antitoxinAdolescentPopulationcomplex mixturesNOAge DistributionImmunitymedicineHumansAdultsSex DistributioneducationAgedDiphtheria toxinGeneral VeterinaryGeneral Immunology and Microbiologybusiness.industryDiphtheriaPublic Health Environmental and Occupational HealthInfantmedicine.diseaseDiphtheria; Diphtheria antitoxin; Cross-sectional studies; Immunoenzyme techniques; Adults; ItalyImmunologyHumoral immunitybiology.proteinbusiness

description

Abstract A polycentric study was carried out between 1993 and 1995 in order to evaluate diphtheria immunity on a representative sample of population from different areas of Italy. To determine diphtheria antitoxin, sera from 5187 apparently healthy subjects, divided according to sex and age groups, were titrated using an ELISA indirect method. A basic protective titre of diphtheria antitoxin (>0.01 IU ml −1 ) was found in 4080 (78.6%) subjects. No statistically significant differences between males and females were observed. Our findings show that the proportion of susceptibles increases with age and a high proportion of adults no longer has diphtheria antitoxin at protective levels since toxigenic C. diphtheriae circulation is presently lacking in Italy.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
1999-01-01
http://hdl.handle.net/2318/41060