Transplacental antibodies. Part III: Maternal antibodies against polioviruses, M. parotitidis and M. parainfluenzae.

In 1981 we examined 247 sera for the presence of antibodies against all three types of poliovirus and 253 sera for antibodies against M. parotitidis and three types of M. parainfluenzae viruses. The sera were obtained from the cord blood of mothers between 15 and 34 years of age. All mothers were divided into four age groups, each with primipara and multipara subgroups. The rate of seropositivity for type 1 and type 2 poliovirus-specific antibody was in all age groups higher than 90%, the overall seropositivity rate for type 3 poliovirus antibody was 83.6%, with 73.1% as the lowest rate for age group of youngest mothers. Significant seropositivity variations between the primipara and multipara subgroups were recorded only for type 3 antibody in the two age groups of oldest mothers (25-29 and 30-34 years). This is consistent with the assumed booster effect of Sabin vaccine strains on mothers of families with more than one child. Antibodies specific to mumps virus were present in the cord blood of 78.6% of all mothers and the rates of seropositivity were found to rise with the increasing age. Seropositivity for M. parainfluenzae type 1-specific antibody was demonstrated in 95.8%, for type 2-specific antibody in 98.9% and for type 3-specific antibody in 100% of mothers, which is suggestive of high herd immunity levels in the population.

Transplacental antibodies. Part II: Maternal antibodies against the toxins of C. diphtheriae and C. tetani.

Examinations of 297 sera for diphtheria antitoxin and 160 sera for tetanus antitoxin were carried out in 1981. All sera were obtained from the cord blood of mothers between 15 and 34 years of age. The mothers were divided into four age groups each of which was further subdivided into the primipara and multipara subgroups. The aim was to assess the age-specific variations in response to active immunization against diphtheria and tetanus. The protective level of diphtheria antitoxin (at least 0.01 I.U./ml) was recorded in the serum of 96.3% of examinees and the rates of seropositivity were found to fall with increasing age. The protective level of tetanus antitoxin (at least 0.1 I.U./ml) was found in the serum of 95.2% of mothers. The serologic response encountered in groups of older mothers was a clear-cut demonstration that the country-wide mass immunization against tetanus carried out between 1974 and 1975 was highly effective and fully justified. The variations in the diphtheria and tetanus antitoxin levels found in the primipara and multipara subgroups were not statistically significant.

Transplacental antibodies. Part I: Maternal antibodies against B. pertussis and B. parapertussis.

In 1981 a set of 256 of the umbilical cord blood collected from mothers between 15 and 34 years of age was serologically examined for specific antibodies against B. pertussis and B. parapertussis infections. The mothers were divided into four age groups, each with primipara and multipara subgroups, with the aim to assess age-related variations in specific immunity levels acquired as a consequence of active immunization against pertussis, or by clinical or subclinical infection with B. parapertussis (no specific immunization against B. parapertussis infection is carried out in Czechoslovakia). The percentage of mothers with B. pertussis-specific antibody was found to fall from 81% and 70% in the two younger age groups (15--19, 20--24 years) to 21.3% and 16.3% in the two older age group (25--29, 30--34 years). The variations between the primipara and multipara subgroups were not statistically significant. Antibody against B. parapertussis infection was present in 38.6% of all mothers, which is suggestive of a relatively high circulation of this agent in the population. In the two older age groups (25--29 and 30--34 years) multiparous mothers were found to have B. parapertussis antibodies at significantly higher rates than primiparous mothers, which seems to confirm the theory that B. parapertussis infection may serve as booster to immunity in mothers of families with more than one child.

Immunological surveys of antibodies against B. pertussis and B. parapertussis in some African and Asian countries.

Immunological surveys in African and Asian countries showed a different degree of herd immunity in the respective countries and the circulation of various types of B. pertussis. Antibodies against B. parapertussis, the second aertiological agent of whooping cough, were found in all countries in all age groups. Before planning any vaccination program, attention should be paid to the vaccine concerning the content of all types of B. pertussis, as was shown in the results of the testing of different vaccines used in Mongolia and Algeria. It is also possible to estimate the age limit for vaccination and thus economic use of the vaccine. The contemporary state of reporting whooping cough cases is very unsatisfactory.

Comparison of titration results of diphtheric antitoxic antibodies obtained by means of Jensen's method and the methods of tissue cultures and haemagglutination.

In 33 human sera the determination of diphtheric antitoxic antibodies was performed in a double blind test using Jensen's method, the method of tissue cultures and the haemagglutination method. In the method of tissue cultures the antibody levels in the sera were determinated in the first and second experiment with the precision of +/- half dilution of the geometrical progression. In Jensen's method, the difference between the first and second measurements slightly exceeded +/- 1 dilution. In the haemagglutination method the error considerably exceeded the binary step dilution. In most cases, the determination fluctuated up to seven times the actual value. Differences among the mean values of examination results obtained by Jensen's method and the method of the tissue cultures are statistically insignificant. The differences between the haemagglutination method and both the other methods are statistically significant.

Human serum Zn-alpha 2-glycoprotein in renal disease.

The serum concentrations of Zn-alpha 2-glycoprotein (ZnaGP) were found to be increased in renal patients with both normal and restricted function; in the latter they showed significant correlation with serum creatinine and urea levels and a decrease after haemodialysis. Renal clearance of ZnaGP studied in four subjects was found to be from 0.1 to 0.8 per cent of that of inulin, and its excretion fraction was inversely proportional to the level of inulin clearance. The significance of the association of hyper-ZnaGP-aemia with renal pathology is unknown; it is supposed to be due rather to some defect in metabolic function of the kidney (utilization or degradation) than to restricted excretion, and its decrease after haemodialysis-with dialysis membrane not permeable to ZnaGP - to be caused by other factors than by the removal of the protein from the body.

Surveillance of pertussis in the CSSR. IV. Immunological surveys of antibodies to pertussis and parapertussis in the Bohemian regions and in Slovakia in 1958 - 1971.

A comparison of the results of repeated immunological surveys with the notification of morbidity and mortality to pertussis and parapertussis revealed direct dependence and simultaneously confirmed the effectiveness of Czechoslovak vaccine. Immunological surveys should be continued in spite of the fact that morbidity of pertussis is low at present, because immunological surveys may lead to timely detection of shortcomings in the quality of vaccination and vaccine. The results after 14 years of systematic vaccination and revaccination and consequent follow-up to the state of immunity in the population and of other factors in the pertussis surveillance programme rank among the other achievements of epidemiology and hygiene in Czechoslovak health services. Contemporary immunological surveys show that the state of immunity in Czechoslovak child population is such as to exclude the occurrence of pertussis in epidemics in the nearest future. The situation is different in parapertussis where epidemic incidence is still possible and where epidemics regularly occur in children of prae-school age.