Assessment of Serum Anti-Bordetella pertussis Antibody Titers among Medical Staff Members

Futoshi Higa; Syusaku Haranaga; Masao Tateyama; Kenji Hibiya; Tsuyoshi Yamashiro; Miyuki Nakamatsu; Takeaki Tomoyose; Masayoshi Nagahama; Takayuki Okamura; Tomoko Owan; Tomoharu Kuda; Fukunori Kinjo; Jiro Fujita

doi:10.7883/yoken.JJID.2008.371

Original Articles

Assessment of Serum Anti-Bordetella pertussis Antibody Titers among Medical Staff Members

Futoshi Higa, Syusaku Haranaga, Masao Tateyama, Kenji Hibiya, Tsuyoshi Yamashiro, Miyuki Nakamatsu, Takeaki Tomoyose, Masayoshi Nagahama, Takayuki Okamura, Tomoko Owan, Tomoharu Kuda, Fukunori Kinjo, Jiro Fujita

Author information

Futoshi Higa
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Syusaku Haranaga
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Masao Tateyama
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Kenji Hibiya
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Tsuyoshi Yamashiro
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Department of Blood Transfusion, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Miyuki Nakamatsu
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Takeaki Tomoyose
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Masayoshi Nagahama
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Division of Digestive and General Surgery, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Takayuki Okamura
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Department of Pediatrics, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Tomoko Owan
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Department of Adult Nursing I, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Tomoharu Kuda
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Sugical Operation Center, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Fukunori Kinjo
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Department of Endoscopic Intervention, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Jiro Fujita
Infection Control Team, Ryukyu University Hospital, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, University of the Ryukyus, Japan

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2008 Volume 61 Issue 5 Pages 371-374

DOI https://doi.org/10.7883/yoken.JJID.2008.371

Details

Abstract

This study comparatively evaluated the titers of the bacterial agglutination (BA) antibody for Bordetella pertussis, anti-pertussis toxin (PT) antibody, and anti-filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) antibody in the serum of medical staff members. The geometric means of the anti-PT and anti-FHA antibody titers were 5.83 and 17.17 EU/mL, respectively. The positive rates of the BA antibodies against Tohama and Yamaguchi strains (≥40x), and anti-PT and anti-FHA antibodies (≥10 EU/mL) were 81.3, 72.9, 43.8, and 68.8%, respectively. A high anti-PT antibody titer (>94 EU/mL) was found in 1 staff member, but this individual had no recent respiratory symptoms. The titers of the BA antibody against the Yamaguchi strain were weakly associated with the anti-PT antibody titers, but the BA antibody titer was not useful for predicting anti-PT antibody positivity. The seroprevalence of anti-pertussis antibody among medical staff was heterogeneous, suggesting that this group could be at high risk for pertussis. Judgments made using BA antibody or anti-PA antibody results differ, and thus careful evaluation of anti-pertussis antibody titers is necessary. Prompt and accurate diagnostic tools are crucial for infection control in the hospital setting.

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