Prevalence of IgM antibodies to phenolic glycolipid I among household contacts and controls in Korea and the Philippines.
Phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I) is a Mycobacterium leprae-specific antigen and the antibodies to the antigen may suggest an M. leprae infection. To compare the M. leprae transmission among the populations, we compared the prevalence of anti-PGL-I IgM antibodies among household contacts and controls between Korea and the Philippines. In Korea (prevalence of leprosy--0.04: 1000), the prevalence of anti-PGL-I antibodies were 4.8% among controls and 8.0% among contacts, respectively. On the other hand, the seroprevalence rate was 10.8% among controls and 13.4% among contacts in the Philippines (prevalence of leprosy--0.70: 1000). Interestingly, a marked difference was noted in the prevalance of anti-PGL-I antibodies among children between the countries; 10-14% among children under 10 years old and 15-18% among those aged between 10 and 19 in the Philippines compared to 0% and 2.9-6.4% in Korea, respectively. This study, therefore suggests that a high prevalance of anti-PGL-I IgM antibodies among children may indicate an active transmission of M. leprae, resulting in a higher incidence of leprosy in the population.
Cho
S N
SN
Department of Microbiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Kim
S H
SH
Cellona
R V
RV
Chan
G P
GP
Fajardo
T T
TT
Walsh
G P
GP
Kim
J D
JD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005190:Family; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis*; D007223:Infant; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D007918:Leprosy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D008875:Middle Aged; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology; D010679:Philippines / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D006017:Glycolipids; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; C045169:phenolic glycolipid I, Mycobacterium leprae