title: Prevalence of neutralizing antibody to respiratory syncytial virus in sera from mothers and newborns residing in the Gambia and in The United States.
abstract: The prevalence of maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-neutralizing antibodies has been documented in developed countries, but there is little information from developing countries. We assessed the prevalence of RSV-neutralizing antibody in sera from Gambian women and their newborns and compared them with their American counterparts during a similar period. The geometric mean titers of maternal antibodies to RSV subgroup A in the two populations were similar, while titers of antibodies to RSV subgroup B in Gambian mothers were significantly higher (8.7 +/- 1.4 versus 7.9 +/- 1.3 [mean +/- standard deviation], P < 0.001). The titers of neutralizing antibody in newborns in both populations correlated with the neutralizing-antibody titers of their mothers. Thus, the status of neutralizing antibody to both major RSV subgroups was comparable among infants and mothers in a developing country, The Gambia, and those in a developed country, the United States.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
authors.forename: R O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Suara
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Piedra
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Glezen
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Adegbola
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Mulholland
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Greenwood
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Whittle
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D001667:Binding, Competitive / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D009035:Mothers; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses / Q000276:immunology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral