title: Short communication: prevalence of antibodies against Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) in children in The Gambia, West Africa.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence of antibodies against Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) among children in eight villages in The Gambia, West Africa.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sera of 796 children aged 1-15 years were tested for presence of antibodies against phase II of C. burnetii by ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IgG and/or IgM phase II antibodies against C. burnetii were detectable in 8.3% (66/796) of all serum samples analysed with significant differences in seroprevalence between villages. Highest prevalence was found in the age group 1-4 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exposure to C. burnetii is considerable in the early years of life in The Gambia, and further studies are warranted to estimate the role of Q fever in acute febrile illness in The Gambia and elsewhere in Africa.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. wim.van.der.hoek@rivm.nl
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van der Hoek
authors.forename: Ramu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sarge-Njie
authors.forename: Tineke
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Herremans
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chisnall
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Okebe
authors.forename: Eniyou
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oriero
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Versteeg
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Goossens
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Sande
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kampmann
authors.forename: Davis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nwakanma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D011778:Q Fever / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M