Antibody levels in mothers colonised with group B streptococci during pregnancy and in their newborn infants, as measured by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to measure serum antibodies to group B streptococci in 20 healthy pregnant women before delivery and in their newborn infants. The sera from 10 of these women who were colonised with group B streptococci and umbilical cord sera from their infants, had higher levels of type-specific IgG antibody than the 10 non-colonised controls and their neonates. All the babies remained well. The results demonstrate that infants from colonised mothers receive type-specific antibody. The possibility that this antibody may provide some degree of protection at birth against this potentially lethal organism warrants investigation.
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D002353:Carrier State / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000276:immunology*; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000276:immunology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M