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Seroprevalence of IgG antibodies to the chlamydia-like microorganism ‘Simkania Z’ by ELISA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 1999

M. G. FRIEDMAN ,
A. GALIL ,
S. GREENBERG  and
S. KAHANE
M. G. FRIEDMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, Beer Sheva, Israel 84105-IL
A. GALIL
Affiliation:
Institute for Child Development, Soroka Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
S. GREENBERG
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, Soroka Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel
S. KAHANE
Affiliation:
Department of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, Beer Sheva, Israel 84105-IL
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Abstract

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The newly described microorganism ‘Simkania Z’, related to the Chlamydiae, has been shown to be associated with bronchiolitis in infants and community acquired pneumonia in adults. The prevalence of infection in the general population is unknown. A simple ELISA assay for the detection of serum IgG antibodies to ‘Simkania Z’ was used to determine the prevalence of such antibodies in several population samples in southern Israel (the Negev). The groups tested included 94 medical and nursing students, 100 unselected blood donors, 106 adult members of a Negev kibbutz (communal agricultural settlement), and 45 adult Bedouin, residents of the Negev. IgG antibodies to ‘Simkania Z’ were found in 55–80% of these presumably healthy individuals, independently of antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae. The Bedouin had a seropositivity rate of 80%, while all other groups had rates of between 55 and 64%. These results indicate that ‘Simkania Z’ infection is probably common in southern Israel.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 122 , Issue 1 , February 1999 , pp. 117 - 123
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press