02615nas a2200469   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653000900080653002200089653002600111653002400137653001500161653001100176653002000187653002800207653003800235653001100273653001600284653001100300653002100311653001200332653002500344653002500369653000900394653001600403653003000419653001600449100001200465700001700477700001100494700001100505700001600516700001400532700001400546245016700560300001000727490000800737520138600745022001402131       2010                            d  c2010 Jul10aAdolescent10aAdult10aAged10aAged, 80 and over10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAntigens, Bacterial10aBiomarkers10aBrazil10aContact Tracing10aCross-Sectional Studies10aEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay10aFemale10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aImmunoglobulin M10aleprosy10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aLeprosy, Tuberculoid10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aSeroepidemiologic Studies10aYoung Adult1 aFrota C1 aFreitas MV C1 aFoss N1 aLima L1 aRodrigues L1 aBarreto M1 aKerr LR S00aSeropositivity to anti-phenolic glycolipid-I in leprosy cases, contacts and no known contacts of leprosy in an endemic and a non-endemic area in northeast Brazil.  a490-50 v1043 a<p>The seroprevalence rates of IgM anti-phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) antibodies in four study groups with differing exposure to Mycobacterium leprae in Ceará, Brazil were investigated between March 2005 and August 2006. The first three groups in a high prevalence area included 144 cases of leprosy, their 380 contacts and 317 participants with no known leprosy contact. The fourth group in a low prevalence area consisted of 87 participants with no known leprosy contact living in an area in which no cases of leprosy had been reported in the previous 6 months. Seropositivity and levels of IgM antibodies to PGL-I were investigated using ELISA. The seropositivity levels of anti-PGL-I among the different clinical forms of leprosy cases were 61% for lepromatous, 25% for tuberculoid and 27% indeterminate. The levels of anti-PGL-I antibodies in the endemic area differentiated leprosy cases from non-cases. However, the seropositivity was similar among contact cases (15.8%) and no known leprosy contact cases from high (15.1%) and low (13.8%) prevalence areas. The seropositivity of both contacts and no known contacts was much higher than previously reported among no known contacts in other endemic areas. The study indicates that anti-PGL-I antibodies are not useful as immunological markers of household leprosy contacts and no known leprosy contacts in endemic areas.</p>  a1878-3503