title: Measles-specific neutralizing antibodies in rural Mozambique: seroprevalence and presence in breast milk.
abstract: In Mozambique, as in many sub-Saharan countries, measles remains a public health problem. We conducted cross-sectional surveys in which we assessed measles-specific antibodies in serum and breast milk by plaque reduction neutralization (PRN) assay and measles secretory IgA in breast milk by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A total of 151 persons < 1 month to 23 years of age were surveyed; 81 (53.6%) of 151 had PRN titers equal to or above the protective level (>/= 200 mIU/mL). We found many serosusceptible persons, including 20.5% in whom no PRN antibody was detected. Almost all (96%) infants 6-8 months of age had non-protective PRN titers. Overall, 20.7% (6 of 29) of persons known to have received measles vaccine had non-protective titers. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of breast milk PRN antibodies was 41.6 mIU/mL (95% confidence interval [CI] = 34.0-51.0 mIU/mL) and the secretory IgA GMT was 227.6 (EU/mL) (95% CI = 179.1-289.1 EU/mL). The PRN titers of breast milk tended to increase with age. A notable proportion of the population in Manhiça, Mozambique apparently remains susceptible to clinical measles despite recent mass vaccination campaigns.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigação em Saúde da Manhiça, Manhiça, Mozambique; Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Ministério de Saúde, Maputo, Mozambique. inacio.mandomando@manhica.net
authors.forename: Inácio M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Mandomando
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Naniche
authors.forename: Marcela F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Pasetti
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Vallès
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cuberos
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nhacolo
authors.forename: Karen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kotloff
authors.forename: Helder
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Myron M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alonso
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008459:Measles virus / Q000276:immunology*; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D009073:Mozambique; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007070:Immunoglobulin A