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. 1968;38(3):327–334.

A serological survey for cholera antibodies in rural East Pakistan

1. The distribution of antibody in the control population of a cholera-vaccine field-trial area and the relation of antibody titre to the pattern of endemic cholera*

W H Mosley, A S Benenson, R Barui
PMCID: PMC2554484  PMID: 5302327

Abstract

Controlled cholera vaccine field trials were held in Matlab Bazar in rural East Pakistan in 1963 and 1964. In July—September 1965, a serological survey for cholera antibodies was carried out on a random sample of the field-trial population. Results are given for the control group only, as representative of the pattern found in an endemic cholera area. Only 2% of the blood samples from children under 10 years of age were found to have detectable agglutinating antibody (titres of 1:20 or more), while the proportion in the age-group over 30 years was 27%-30%. Tests for vibriocidal antibody showed that none of the blood samples from children under 1 year of age contained detectable antibody, while 87%-90% of those from adults over 30 years did so. The rise in the geometric mean vibriocidal titre showed an almost linear correlation with a sharp fall in the cholera case rate with age. Since a similar survey in a non-endemic area (Czechoslovakia) did not reveal any rise in antibody titre with age, and since cholera epidemics in areas without recent experience of the disease are characterized by a higher incidence rate in adults than in children, it is suggested that the antibody titres give a measure of the level of immunity in a population.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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