PREVALENCE OF ANTIBODIES TO EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS, CYTOMEGALOVIRUS AND TOXOPLASMA IN A MEXICAN HIGHLAND COMMUNITY

• Published in: American journal of epidemiology 1973-02, Vol.97 (2), p.116-124
• Main Authors: GOLUBJATNIKOV, RJURIK, ALLEN, VIRGINIA D., STEADMAN, MARJORIE, BLANCARTE, PILAR OLMOS, INHORN, STANLEY L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age Factors; antibodies; Antibodies - analysis; Antibodies, Viral - analysis; Child; Child, Preschool; Complement Fixation Tests; cytomegalovirus; Cytomegalovirus - immunology; Female; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Herpesvirus 4, Human - immunology; Humans; Infant; Male; Mexico; Sampling Studies; serology; Sex Factors; toxoplasma; Toxoplasma - immunology
• ISSN: 0002-9262; 1476-6256
• DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a121488

Golubjatnikov, R. (University of Wisconsin Center for Health Sciences, Madison, Wisconsin 53706), V. D. Allen, M. Steadman, M. P. Olmos Blancarte and S. L. Inhorn. Prevalence of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus and Toxoplasma in a Mexican highland community. Am J Epidemiol 97: 116–124, 1973.—In order to assess the prevalence of antibodies to 3 agents thought to cause infectious mononucleosis-like illness, a study was undertaken on 660 sera from a stratified random sample of children, 0 to 17 years of age, from a highland county of central Mexico. Antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), detected by the indirect fluorescent antibody test, showed that 32% of the 6- to 12-month-old infants had titers of 1:40 or higher, and this rose to 76% in the 6-year-olds, with no further increase in the school-age children. Of the 1- to 4-year-old children 86% were seropositive ≥1:10). Thus, EBV antibody prevalence was higher than that for complement-fixing antibody to cytomegalovirus, which reached 18% in the 0–4 year age group, with girls showing a higher rate than boys (p = 0.0026). Prevalence of antibody to Toxoplasma gondii reached a stable but low maximum in the 5–9 year age group (about 15%), similar to results of previous studies in the Mexican highlands. Toxoplasma antibody prevalence was lower (p = 0.0026) in children with 5 or more sibs than in their cohorts with fewer sibs, unlike the finding of significantly (p = 0.0026) higher prevalence of intermediate and high titers (≥1:40) EBV in subjects with large families.