[Specific antibodies against Plasmodium falciparum antigens in immune subjects: I. Comparison of detection/titration...

We report a comparative study of specific antibody levels to the blood stages of P. falciparum in individuals living in two different areas with different transmission levels of malaria. We have compared 2 techniques for the detection/titration of antibodies i.e. ELISA and IFI, ELISA being particularly suitable for immuno-epidemiological related studies. A schizont lysate from P. falciparum infected red blood cells from FUP/CB Marburg strain as antigen proved usefullness, as compared with an antigen extracted from a local strain recently adapted to in vitro culture. Using these techniques, high specific antibody responses were found in the villagers' sera and mean levels of antibodies increased with age. Levels of specific IgG were comparable between those two locations, in spite of a ten fold higher level of transmission between the two villages. In contrast, a significantly higher level of IgM in adults living in holoendemic.