ENTEROTOXIN ANTIBODIES IN RELATION TO DIARRHEA IN SWEDISH SOLDIERS IN CYPRUS

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 55  (6) , 663-668
Abstract
The development of antibodies to Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) and its relationship to diarrhea was studied in 2 Swedish battalions (1 in the winter, WB, and 1 in the summer, SB) of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus. Whereas only 6-15% of the soldiers had detectable levels of anti-LT antibodies in their sera before leaving Sweden, as many as 69% of the SB and 43% of the WB soldiers who developed diarrhea in Cyprus acquired significant titers of enterotoxin antibodies in their sera (acute phase serum). During the summer, many soldiers without diarrhea also obtained anti-LT antibodies; no such response was observed in healthy soldiers during the winter. Civilian Turkish Cypriots had positive sera in high frequency (60-66%) during both study periods. Parallel titration of positive sera against E. coli LT and cholera toxin indicated that the enterotoxin-neutralizing antibodies registered were induced by bacteria producing enterotoxin identical or closely related to LT.

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