Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-pwrkn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-07T04:44:04.606Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Pertussis antibodies in the sera of children exposed to Bordetella pertussis by vaccination or infection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

Jean M. Dolby
Affiliation:
The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, Elstree, Hertfordshire
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Low agglutinin titres to pertussis suspensions were found in 99% of sera from a group comprising healthy adults and non-vaccinated, non-infected infants of 1–6 months of age. These are attributable to agglutinins to heat-stable antigens and/or heat labile agglutinogen 1, and cross-absorption tests must be done on the sera in order to distinguish between the two. Agglutinins to agglutinogens 2 and 3 were found in only about 20% of adult sera. Bactericidal antibody was low in titre or absent in all sera from non-exposed individuals.

Raised bactericidal antibody titres and the presence of agglutinins 2 and 3 were attributed to exposure to Bordetella pertussis antigens, either as vaccine or as infection. The variation, amongst both vaccinated and infected children, was very great. A vaccinated child who became ill responded to the infection in much the same way as a non-vaccinated child. We were unable to relate the immunity of the child to the titres either of agglutinins or of the bactericidal antibody.

The protective ability of sera from vaccinated or infected children measured in mice against small, lethal brain infections was also unrelated to the state of immunity in the children, but this protective ability was correlated with the complement-mediated bactericidal antibody titres of the sera.

The distribution of agglutinins, bactericidal antibody, and anti-haemagglutinin in serum IgG and IgM was different in vaccinated and infected children.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1973

References

REFERENCES

Abbott, J. D, Preston, N. W. & MacKay, R. I. (1971). Agglutinin response to pertussis vaccination in the child. British Medical Journal i, 86–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ackers, J. P. & Dolby, J. M. (1972). The antigen of Bordetella pertussis that induces bacteri cidal antibody and its relationship to protection of mice. Journal of General Microbiology 70, 371–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersen, E. K. (1953). Serological studies on H. pertussis, H. parapertussis and H. bronchisepticus. Acta pathologica et microbiologica scandinavica 33, 202–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, N. R., Voyce, M. A., Burland, W. L. & Hilton, M. L. (1969). Advantages of aluminium hydroxide adsorbed combined diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines for the immunization of infants. British Medical Journal i, 663–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, S. M. & Wheeler, M. W. (1946). Pertussis vaccine prepared with phase-I cultures grown in fluid medium. American Journal of Public Health 36, 371–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cruickshank, R.et al. A combined Scottish study (1970). Diagnosis of whooping cough: comparison of serological tests with isolation of Bordetella pertussis. British Medical Journal iv, 637–9.Google Scholar
Dane, D. S., Haire, M., Dicx, G., Briggs, E. M. & Connor, T. J. (1966). Further studies with quadruple vaccine. Journal of Hygiene 64, 475–84.Google ScholarPubMed
Dolby, J. M. & Dolby, D. E. (1969). The antibody activities of 19S and 7S fractions from rabbit antisera to Bordetella pertussis. Immunology 16, 737–47.Google ScholarPubMed
Dolby, J. M. & Vincent, W. A. (1965). Characterization of the antibodies responsible for the ‘bactericidal activity patterns’ of antisera to Bordetella pertussis. Immunology 8, 499510.Google ScholarPubMed
Eldering, G., Hornbeck, C. & Baker, J. (1957). Serological study of Bordetella pertussis and related species. Journal of Bacteriology 74, 133–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haire, M., Djane, D. S. & Dicx, G. (1967). Reactions to combined vaccines containing killed Bordetella pertussis. Medical Officer 117, 55–8.Google Scholar
Kendrick, P. L., Gottshall, R. Y., Anderson, H. D., Volk, V. K., Bunney, W. E. & Top, F. H. (1969). Pertussis agglutinins in adults. Public Health Reports, Washington 84, 915.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muschel, L. H. & Osawa, E. (1959). Human blood group substance B and Escherichia coli 806. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 101, 614–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Public Health Laboratory Service (1969). Efficacy of whooping-cough vaccines used in the United Kingdom before 1968. Preliminary report. British Medical Journal iv, 329–33.Google Scholar
Public Health Laboratory Service (1973). Efficacy of whooping-cough vaccines used in the United Kingdom before 1968. Bacteriological and virological findings. Final report. British Medical Journal (in the Press).Google Scholar
Raska, K. (1971). Epidemiological surveillance with particular reference to the use of immuno logical surveys. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 64, 684–8.Google Scholar