Prevalence of neutralizing antibody to respiratory syncytial virus in sera from mothers and newborns residing in the Gambia and in The United States.

Abstract

The prevalence of maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-neutralizing antibodies has been documented in developed countries, but there is little information from developing countries. We assessed the prevalence of RSV-neutralizing antibody in sera from Gambian women and their newborns and compared them with their American counterparts during a similar period. The geometric mean titers of maternal antibodies to RSV subgroup A in the two populations were similar, while titers of antibodies to RSV subgroup B in Gambian mothers were significantly higher (8.7 +/- 1.4 versus 7.9 +/- 1.3 [mean +/- standard deviation], P < 0.001). The titers of neutralizing antibody in newborns in both populatio..