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Prevalence of complement fixing antibody to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Thai children
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Insights
This study found Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibodies in 61.3% of Thai children, peaking in the 6-10 age group. Antibody levels suggest maternal antibodies wane by 1-3 months, with recent infections indicated by titer changes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common respiratory pathogen.
- Understanding antibody prevalence is crucial for tracking infection dynamics in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of antibodies to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in normal Thai children.
- To correlate antibody titers with age and identify patterns indicative of infection.
Main Methods:
- Complement fixation test used to detect antibodies in 445 Thai children (newborn to 15 years).
- Sera analyzed for antibody titers, with paired sera from 72 children examined for recent infection indicators.
Main Results:
- Antibody prevalence was 61.3% (titer ≥ 1:8), peaking in the 6-10 year age group (81.1% with titer ≥ 1:32).
- Maternal antibody presence was suggested in infants <1 month (12.2% ≥ 1:32), decreasing by 1-3 months (1.3%).
- 9.7% of children with high titers showed four-fold changes, indicating recent Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.
Conclusions:
- Antibody prevalence to Mycoplasma pneumoniae increases with age in Thai children, aligning with symptomatic infection patterns.
- Maternal antibody transfer plays a role in early infancy, followed by active infection-driven antibody development.
- The study highlights the utility of serological markers for assessing Mycoplasma pneumoniae exposure and infection in children.
Abstract:
The prevalence of antibodies to Mycoplasma pneumoniae was determined in normal Thai children by means of complement fixation. There were 445 children (243 boys and 202 girls) of different ages, ranging from newborn to 15 years. The lowest frequency of complement-fixing antibody was found in children age 1-3 months, and highest in children age 6-10 years which corresponds to the age distribution of symptomatic M. pneumoniae infection. The lowest and highest titers measured were less than 1:8 and 1:512 respectively. The prevalence of complement fixing antibody of titers more than or equal to 1:8, 1:32, 1:64 and 1:128 were 61.3, 31.7, 25.4 and 10.3 per cent of total children, respectively. Among children less than one month old, the frequency of complement fixing antibody of titers greater than or equal to 1:32 was 12.2 per cent and decreased to 1.3 per cent among children from the age 1-3 months. This decrease probably represented the disappearance of maternal antibody over this period. An increase in both the frequency and the geometric mean titer was seen thereafter. The peak frequency of high titers (greater than or equal to 1:32), 81.1 per cent, occurred in children 6-10 year of age. Paired sera were obtained from 72 children with high titers of greater than or equal to 1:64, 9.7 per cent had four fold changes of titer which indicated recent infection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)