title: Population-based seroprevalence of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C capsular antibody before the introduction of conjugate vaccine, in Australia.
abstract: Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C (NMC) conjugate vaccine was introduced, in Australia, in 2003. Our aims were to determine pre-immunisation IgG NMC seroprevalence and evaluate an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), previously validated against the serum bactericidal assay (SBA). 2409 sera, collected in 2002, from subjects aged 2-34 years, were tested. The geometric mean concentration (GMC) of NMC anticapsular IgG was 0.38 U/mL in subjects under 19 years and it increased to 0.67 U/mL for those aged 30-34 years. Variation in GMC correlated with reported NMC disease incidence and was higher in males than females (0.52 U/mL versus 0.41 U/mL; p=0.005). The ELISA appears suitable for serosurveillance but the IgG level that correlates with protection needs further investigation. Serosurveys will be repeated to monitor the impact of vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology-Public Health and Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Backhouse
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Gidding
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: MacIntyre
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: McIntyre
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Gilbert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016667:Bacterial Capsules / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D038542:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup C / Q000276:immunology*; D011153:Population; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate