PERSISTENCE OF ANTIBODIES TO MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIAE FOLLOWING NATURALLY ACQUIRED INFECTIONS

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Abstract
Cordero, L, C. du V. Florey and D. M. Horstmann (Yale Univ. Schl. of Medicine, New Haven, Conn. 06510). Persistence of antibodies to Mycoplasma Pneumoniae following naturally acquired infections. Amer. J. Epid., 1968, 88: 428–435.—Titers of tetrazolium reduction inhibition (TRI), hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) and complement fixing (CF) antibodies were tested two years after M. pneumoniae infection in individuals with known date of seroconversion whose clinical response had been documented. Approximately half the patients who seroconverted following clinically apparent disease had TRI and HI antibody levels comparable to those during convalescence, and only 6 to 10% had lost detectable antibodies. In contrast, those whose infections had been inapparent showed marked declines in titers so that 71% had no detectable TRI antibodies and 37% had insignificant HI leveb two years after infection. Analysis of CF results indicated similar trends. The evidence that infected and seroconverted patients may lose detectable antibodies over a period of time suggests that two groups of seronegatives must exist, those who have never been infected and those whose titers have fallen to immeasurable levels. The magnitude of the antibody response after natural infection was found to be higher in patients with overt disease than in those with asymptomatic infection regardless of age. A comparison of TRI and HI titers indicated that the correlation between the two is not strong, suggesting that the tests do not measure the same antibody.

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