Transmission of circulating schistosomal antigens from infected mothers to their newborns

ABSTRACT

This work tried to answer the question of antigen transfer possibility using a high sensitive assay in 50 mothers and their newborns at birth and 1, 3, and 6 months after delivery. The assay used in this work could detect circulating S. mansoni antigens in 45 infected mothers [90%] with active S. mansoni infection. A significant direct increase in mean antigen levels was found with the intensity of infection evaluated by egg counting [p <0.01]. The clinical stage of the diseased mothers was apparently unrelated to the ELISA test values as no significant relations were observed. Positive antigen levels were detected in 33 newborns [66%] of the 45 positive antigen mothers, then the percentage positivity was directly decreased with the advancement of age, as only 5 infants [10%] had positive antigen levels compared with 0% at 6 months of age. A positive correlation between newborn serum antigen concentration and concentration of antigen in sera of their mothers was obtained