[Prevalence of serum antibodies against Bartonella ssp. in a health population from the south area of the Seville province]. / Prevalencia de anticuerpos séricos frente a Bartonella spp. en una población sana del área sur de la provincia de Sevilla.

OBJECTIVE: To know the prevalence of serum antibodies against Bartonella spp. in a healthy population from south of Spain. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A clinical-epidemiological survey was conducted among 146 healthy individuals. An indirect immunofluorescence commercial technique was used in a sample of serum from each individual to detect the present of IgG type serum antibodies against Bartonella spp., considering a result equal to or greater than 1:128 as positive. RESULTS: Thirty six (24.7%) of all the subjects studied were asymptomatic carriers of antibodies against Bartonella spp. No crossed reactions against Chlamydia trachomatis, C. pneumoniae or Coxiella burnetti were observed. No significant association was found between the presence of seropositivity for Bartonella spp. and other factors. CONCLUSION: There is an elevated frequency of asymptomatic carriers of antibodies against Bartonella spp. among the healthy population of our area. This suggests that most of the infections by Bartonella are subclinical.

Prevalencia de anticuerpos séricos frente a Bartonella spp. en una polación sana del área sur de la provincia de Sevilla / Prevalence of serum antibodies against Bartonella ssp. in a healthy population from the south area of the Seville province

Pacientes y métodos. Se realizó una encuesta clínico-epidemiológica entre 146 individuos sanos. En una muestra de suero de cada individuo se utilizó una técnica comercial de inmunofluorescencia indirecta para detectar la presencia de anticuerpos séricos de tipo IgG frente a Bartonella spp., considerando como positivo un resultado igual o mayor a 1:128. Resultados. Treinta y seis (24,7%) del total de sujetos estudiados eran portadores asintomáticos de anticuerpos frente a Bartonella spp. No se observaron reacciones cruzadas frente a Chlamydia trachomatis, C. pneumoniae ni Coxiella burnetti. No se encontró asociación significativa entre la presencia de seropositividad para Bartonella spp. y otros factores. Conclusión. Hay una elevada frecuencia de portadores asintomáticos de anticuerpos frente a Bartonella spp. entre la población sana de nuestra área. Ello sugiere que la mayor parte de las infecciones por Bartonella son subclínicas

Objective. To know the prevalence of serum antibodies against Bartonella spp. in a healthy population from the south of Spain. Patients and methods. A clinical-epidemiological survey was conducted among 146 healthy individuals. An indirect immunofluourescence commercial technique was used in a sample of serum from each individual to detect the present of IgG type serum antibodies against Bartonella spp., considering a result equal to or greater than 1:128 as positive.Results. Thirty six (24.7%) of all the subjects studied were asymptomatic carriers of antibodies against Bartonella spp. No crossed reactions against Chlamydia trachomatis, C. pneumoniae or Coxiella burnetti were observed. No significant association was found between the presence of seropositivity for Bartonella spp. and other factors. Conclusion. There is an elevated frequency of asymptomatic carriers of antibodies against Bartonella spp. among the healthy population of our area. This suggests that most of the infections by Bartonella are subclinical