Humoral immunity to respiratory syncytial virus in young and elderly adults

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been demonstrated to cause substantial disease in elderly and immunocompromised subjects. The relationship of serum antibody to RSV infection and the risk of infection in elderly subjects is controversial, thus we evaluated the presence of neutralizing antibodie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Epidemiology and infection 2009-12, Vol.137 (12), p.1684-1686
Main Authors: TERROSI, C., Di GENOVA, G., MARTORELLI, B., VALENTINI, M., CUSI, M. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Distribution
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Antibodies
Antibodies, Viral - blood
Biological and medical sciences
elderly
Frailty
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Infectious diseases
Microbiology
Middle Aged
Older people
Respiratory syncytial virus
Respiratory Syncytial Viruses - immunology
RSV
young
Young Adult
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Summary:Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been demonstrated to cause substantial disease in elderly and immunocompromised subjects. The relationship of serum antibody to RSV infection and the risk of infection in elderly subjects is controversial, thus we evaluated the presence of neutralizing antibodies to RSV in healthy people of different age groups and the correlation with viral protection. Baseline blood samples from 197 subjects aged 20-80 years were analysed for the presence of anti-RSV antibodies either by indirect immunofluorescence and microneutralization test. The percentage of people who had neutralizing antibodies to RSV was significantly higher (P=0.001) in the youngest group (92.51%) compared to the frail group (36.21%). The RSV antibody level tends to wane in some older people; this factor could determine proneness to RSV re-infections in the elderly who are at a greater risk of developing severe respiratory disease.
ISSN:0950-2688
1469-4409
DOI:10.1017/S0950268809002593