title: Prevalence of antibodies to rotavirus in different age-groups of infants in Bochum, West Germany.
abstract: We studied the prevalence of antibody to rotavirus in 386 serum samples obtained from different age-groups of infants in Bochum, West Germany. Cord sera mirrored the IgG titer and serotype specificity of the corresponding maternal sera. IgG antibody prevalence decreased with age, reached a minimum between four and 12 months, and increased thereafter. IgM antibodies appeared first in the eight- to 12-month age-group, and IgM prevalence remained high thereafter. The serum level of IgA was low in all age-groups. Significant prevalence increases with increasing age were observed for neutralizing antibodies to rotavirus serotypes 1 and 3. Antibodies to serotype 4 had not reached adult level at 2.5 y of age. Prevalence of antibodies to serotype 2 was low in all age-groups. The percentage of monospecific sera neutralizing only one serotype was high in young infants eight to 12 months of age and decreased significantly with increasing age.
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Research Center, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brüssow
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Werchau
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liedtke
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lerner
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mietens
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sidoti
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sotek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000276:immunology; D005860:Germany, West; D006801:Humans; D007112:Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M