SEROEPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF ACUTE ILEMORRHAGIC CONJUNCTIVITIS VIRUS (ENTERO VIRUS TYPE 70) IN WEST AFRICA. II. STUDIES WITH HUMAN SERA COLLECTED IN WEST AFRICAN COUNTRIES OTHER THAN GHANA

• Published in: American journal of epidemiology 1981-08, Vol.114 (2), p.274-283
• Main Authors: KONO, REISAKU, MIYAMURA, KIKUKO, YAMAZAKI, SHUDO, SASAGAWA, AKIRA, KURAHASHI, HIROMU, TAJIRI, ETSUKO, TAKEDA, NAOKAZU, ROBIN, YVES, RENAUDET, JEAN, ISHII, KEIZO, NAKAZONO, NAOKI, SAWADA, HARUMI, UCHIDA, YUKIO, MINAMI, KAZUMORI
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: conjunctivitis; enteroviruses; eye diseases; serology
• ISSN: 0002-9262; 1476-6256
• DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113192

Human sera were collected in Senegal, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Dahomey, Liberia, Gabon and Togo during the pre-epidemic period of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) from 1965 to 1969, and tested for virus neutralizing (VN) antibody to enterovirus type 70 (EV7O). Of these, 1109 (91%) were antibody negative (≥1:4), 116 (9%) neutralized at a dilution of 1:8 or over, and 45(4%) at dilutions of at least 1:16. The distribution pattern is not significantly different from that of sera collected from Kenya in 1967 or from army recruits in the United States, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia in the 19608. Sera collected during the post-epidemic period (1970 to 1977) in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Mali, Upper Volta, Chad, Niger and Gabon were also examined; 1573(68%) were VN antibody negative (≧1:4), whiie 733 (32%) and 433 (19%) had titers of 1:8 or greater and 1:16 or over, respectively. There is a significant difference in distribution between pre- and post.epldemlc antibody titers (p < 0.001), although the incidence of AHC was lower in these countries than in Ghana and Southeast Asia. The prevalence of VN antibodies tends to be lower in the dry, hot inland areas and thus humid coastal monsoonal climates and dense populations seem to favor the spread of AHC.