1. Late onset of the serological response against the 18 kDa small heat shock protein of Mycobacterium ulcerans in children.
- Author
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Röltgen K, Bratschi MW, Ross A, Aboagye SY, Ampah KA, Bolz M, Andreoli A, Pritchard J, Minyem JC, Noumen D, Koka E, Um Boock A, Yeboah-Manu D, and Pluschke G
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Bacterial Proteins immunology, Buruli Ulcer blood, Buruli Ulcer epidemiology, Cameroon epidemiology, Child, Child, Preschool, Endemic Diseases, Female, Ghana epidemiology, Humans, Immunoglobulin G blood, Immunoglobulin G immunology, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Seroepidemiologic Studies, Young Adult, Antibodies, Bacterial blood, Antigens, Bacterial immunology, Buruli Ulcer immunology, Heat-Shock Proteins, Small immunology, Mycobacterium ulcerans immunology
- Abstract
A previous survey for clinical cases of Buruli ulcer (BU) in the Mapé Basin of Cameroon suggested that, compared to older age groups, very young children may be less exposed to Mycobacterium ulcerans. Here we determined serum IgG titres against the 18 kDa small heat shock protein (shsp) of M. ulcerans in 875 individuals living in the BU endemic river basins of the Mapé in Cameroon and the Densu in Ghana. While none of the sera collected from children below the age of four contained significant amounts of 18 kDa shsp specific antibodies, the majority of sera had high IgG titres against the Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP-1). These data suggest that exposure to M. ulcerans increases at an age which coincides with the children moving further away from their homes and having more intense environmental contact, including exposure to water bodies at the periphery of their villages.
- Published
- 2014
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