title: [Data from the serological examination of the population of the Republic of Congo for the presence of antibodies to orthopoxviruses. I. A comparative evaluation of different study methods and general results].
abstract: The selective survey of the population of the Republic of Congo for the presence of antibodies to orthopoxviruses has been carried out with the use of the neutralization test, the hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) test and the ELISA. Despite a prolonged period (15 years) elapsed since the transmission of natural smallpox stopped in this country and despite the almost complete cessation of immunization against this infection since 1977, antibodies to orthopoxviruses can be detected in a considerable proportion of the population: 29%. This percentage grows as older age groups are examined, reaching 90.6% in the age groups of 16 years and over. Antibodies to orthopoxviruses have also been detected in children under 5 years of age, born after the eradication of smallpox and having no vaccination scars. The possible causes of this phenomenon are discussed. The comparison of the results obtained with the use of different tests has confirmed high sensitivity of ELISA. The HAI test is less sensitive, but this is compensated by its simplicity and its easy use for screening procedures. Besides, the positive results of this test indicate that the corresponding sera contain sufficiently high titers of virus-neutralizing antibodies detected by means of ELISA, which is of importance for their subsequent interspecific differentiation.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / Q000032:analysis; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003223:Congo; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D006801:Humans; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D011212:Poxviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D012899:Smallpox / Q000276:immunology; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D000914:Antibodies, Viral
vernacular_title: Dannye serologicheskogo obsledovaniia naseleniia Respubliki Kongo na nalichie amtitel k ortopoksivirusam. Soobshchenie I. Sravnitel'naia otsenka razlichnykh metodov issledovaniia i obshchie itogi.