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Seroepidemiological study of respiratory syncytial virus in São Paulo State, Brazil
Author(s) -
Cox M. J.,
Azevedo R. S.,
Cane P. A.,
Massad E.,
Medley G. F.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(199807)55:3<234::aid-jmv9>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - seroprevalence , pneumovirinae , virus , titer , transmission (telecommunications) , medicine , virology , age groups , immunity , respiratory system , viral disease , antibody , paramyxoviridae , epidemiology , immunology , biology , serology , demography , immune system , sociology , electrical engineering , engineering
Transmission of respiratory syncytial virus is thought to be highly seasonal based on reported clinical cases, although transmission resulting in mild disease in all age groups has been little studied. This has been investigated in a seroepidemiological survey using sera from São Paulo, Brazil. Seroprevalence was found to increase rapidly with age, reaching over 90% by three years of age. This is typical of viral infections, which produce life‐long immunity following primary infection. One‐hundred percent seropositivity was attained by five years of age and maintained throughout adulthood, whereas mean antibody titers continued to increase with age. The mean duration of maternal antibodies was estimated to be 3.3 months with antibody decay demonstrated in paired samples from infants. The results are discussed in relation to possible mechanisms generating such a profile. J. Med. Virol. 55:234–239, 1998 . © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.