A Survey of Serum Bactericidal Antibodies against Neisseria meningitidis Serogroups A, C, W and Y in Adolescents and Adults in the Republic of Korea.
- Author:
Jin Han KANG
1
;
Yan MIAO
;
Sooyoung LEE
;
Jong Hyun KIM
;
Kyung Yil LEE
;
Sang Hyuk MA
;
Dae Sun JO
;
Hyoyoung SONG
;
Mendel HAAG
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Serosurveillance; Neisseria meningitidis; Republic of Korea; Adults; Adolescents; Epidemiology; hSBA; Serogroups
- MeSH: Adolescent*; Adult*; Antibodies*; Epidemiologic Studies; Epidemiology; Humans; Korea; Neisseria meningitidis*; Neisseria*; Prevalence; Republic of Korea*
- From:Infection and Chemotherapy 2016;48(1):12-19
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND: This descriptive epidemiological study aimed to assess the prevalence of serum bactericidal antibodies against Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, W and Y in adolescents and adults in the Republic of Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 987 subjects aged 11-55 years from five geographical regions of Korea were included in the study. Human serum bactericidal assay (hSBA) was used to measure hSBA titres for serogroups A, C, W and Y. Percentages of subjects with hSBA titres ≥4 and ≥8, geometric mean titres (GMTs), and associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were estimated. Analysis was performed for the entire study population and stratified by age group or region. No statistical hypotheses were tested. RESULTS: The highest percentage of subjects with hSBA titres ≥8 was observed for serogroup W (74%), was similar for serogroups C (34%) and Y (36%), and was lowest for serogroup A (9%). The percentages of subjects with hSBA titres ≥4 were similar to those with hSBA titres ≥8 for all serogroups. GMTs were 2.56 µg/mL (serogroup A), 5.14 µg/mL (serogroup C), 22.63 µg/mL (serogroup W) and 5.28 µg/mL (serogroup Y). Similar trends in GMTs across serogroups were seen for individual regions and age groups. The highest GMTs for serogroups A, W and Y were recorded in the >19-29 years group, and for serogroup C in the >49-55 years group. Across all regions, GMTs were very similar for serogroups A, C and Y, while more variation was seen for serogroup W. CONCLUSION: In the Korean population, among Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, W and Y, serum bactericidal antibodies were most prevalent against serogroup W and least prevalent against serogroup A. These trends were maintained across age groups and regions. The highest GMTs for serogroups A, W and Y were observed in the >19-29 years group. The reasons behind the observed differences in prevalence of bactericidal antibodies against the serogroups are currently not understood, although carriage and cross-reactivity of the assay may be important influences.
