Seroepidemiology of human syncytial virus: antibody prevalence in the Pacific

A seroepidemiological survey of the human syncytial (foamy) virus was done by means of an indirect immunofluorescence test on 1,717 sera from nine different Pacific island territories. The specificity of the reaction was verified by neutralization tests. The study indicated that the virus is ubiquitous in this part of the world, with no region being entirely free of antibody. The antibody prevalence ranged from a low of 1.2% in Ponape to a high of 15.6% in the Cook Islands. The average prevalence for the nine insular communities was 6.9%.