title: Prevalence of pertussis IgG antibodies in children in Palermo, Italy.
abstract: The prevalence of IgG antibodies to Bordetella pertussis in a sample of 615 1-12-year-old unvaccinated children in Palermo was estimated by ELISA. The overall prevalence was 56%; it increased from 24% in one to three-year-old children to 67% in 11-12-year-old children (p less than 0.01). IgG antibody prevalence was not associated with the father's years of schooling (OR 1), nor with the family size (OR 1.3; C.I. 95% = 0.8-2.2). For children aged one the three years, serological results showed that the history of pertussis reported by parents in questionnaires gave high specificity (93.2%) and negative predictive value (85.4%). Our seroepidemiological study evidences a great exposure of children to B. pertussis in Palermo, with a high proportion of infections occurring after three years of age.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stroffolini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giammanco
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Crescenzo
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lupo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nicosia
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Valenza
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cascio
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taormina
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nisticò
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis*; D007223:Infant; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G