Prevalence of antibodies against Simkania negevensis in a healthy Japanese population determined by the microimmunofluorescence test.
Simkania negevensis has been associated with bronchiolitis in infants and community-acquired pneumonia in adults. Reports of exposure to this microorganism are only available from Israel, North America and Western Europe. Currently, no standard method for diagnosis of S. negevensis infection has been established nor have prevalence rates been shown in Japan. For the first time we demonstrated the ability of the microimmunofluorescence (MIF) test to detect S. negevensis-specific immunoglobulin G and exposure to S. negevensis in Japan. The positive rate in healthy volunteers was 4.3% (25/588), with rates increasing with age. Results indicate the usefulness of the MIF test as a serological method for detecting S. negevensis-specific antibodies. A standard serological test for infection with S. negevensis is needed.
Yamaguchi
Tetsuya
T
Department of Pediatrics, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan. tetsuyafujino@yahoo.co.jp
Yamazaki
Tsutomu
T
Inoue
Miyuki
M
Mashida
Chikako
C
Kawagoe
Kiyotaka
K
Ogawa
Motohiko
M
Shiga
Sadashi
S
Nakagawa
Yuichi
Y
Kishimoto
Toshio
T
Kurane
Ichiro
I
Ouchi
Kazunobu
K
Ohzeki
Takehiko
T
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002695:Chlamydiales / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G