title: IgM serum antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-I and clinical leprosy: two years' observation in a community with hyperendemic leprosy.
abstract: A village population with hyperendemic leprosy in Papua New Guinea was repeatedly examined for clinical leprosy and for serum IgM antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-I (APGL-I) over 2 years between 1984 and 1986. In 1984, serum APGL-I was elevated in 15% of the subjects without clinical leprosy, and the prevalence of seropositivity was not significantly different in subjects from households with or without leprosy. In 1986, the prevalence of elevated serum APGL-I in leprosy-free subjects had risen to 23%. The incidence of seroconversion from APGL-I negative to APGL-I positive was 9.5% per year (95/1000 person years) in 253 subjects tested in 1984 and 1986. During the same period, 27 of 40 (67%) leprosy-free subjects reverted from positive to negative. The positive seroconversion rate in the community was higher than the incidence of clinical leprosy (11.2/1000 person years) over the same period. However, elevated serum APGL-I was not associated with clinical disease and failed to predict the development of disease over 2 years. The significance of persistent seropositivity found in 14 (5%) leprosy-free subjects is uncertain.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Bagshawe
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Garsia
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baumgart
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Astbury
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis*; D007918:Leprosy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology*; D010219:Papua New Guinea / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D006017:Glycolipids; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; C045169:phenolic glycolipid I, Mycobacterium leprae