title: Neonatal tetanus in Peru: risk assessment with modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and toxoid skin test.
abstract: We used a modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to investigate tetanus immunity in 232 pregnant Peruvian women. One hundred forty-two (61.2%) had protective antitoxin titers (> or = 0.01 IU/mL). Protective titers correlated positively with the number of toxoid doses reported during the current pregnancy. A majority of women reporting no toxoid doses during the current pregnancy had at least one prenatal health care visit. We evaluated a toxoid skin test in 44 of the subjects, but it correlated poorly with the ELISA. The modified ELISA is a useful in vitro method for studying tetanus immunity in the developing world.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vernacchio
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Madico
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verastegui
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Gilman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012882:Skin Tests; D013742:Tetanus / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013743:Tetanus Antitoxin / Q000097:blood*; D013745:Tetanus Toxoid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D013743:Tetanus Antitoxin; D013745:Tetanus Toxoid