Journal of Tropical Pediatrics Advance Access originally published online on May 3, 2008
Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 2008 54(5):354-356; doi:10.1093/tropej/fmn032
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Antibody Responses and Resistance against Ascaris lumbricoides Infection among Venezuelan Rural Children: The Influence of Ethnicity
aInstituto de Biomedicina, bLaboratorio de Ciencias Básicas, Escuela de Nutrición, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Central de Venezuela, and cLaboratorio de Parasitologia, Dirección de Epidemiología Ambiental, Ministerio de Salud, Venezuela
Correspondence: Isabel Hagel, Sección de Inmunoquímica, Instituto de Biomedicina. San Nicolás a Providencia, Parroquia Altagracia, Distrito Capital. Apartado Postal: 4043, Caracas 1010A, Venezuela. Tel/Fax: (58212) 8615530; E-mail <isabelhagel{at}yahoo.com>.
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We studied the production of anti parasite antibodies and the resistance against A. lumbricoides infection among the school population of three different Venezuelan ethnic groups: Warao Amerindians, Afro- Americans and white Creole descendents. The prevalence and intensity of A. lumbricoides were determined before and after 1 year of anthelminthic treatment. Parasitic loads were associated to pre-treatment serum levels of anti A. lumbricoides IgE and IgG4 antibodies. The intensity of the infection and the proportion of re-infected children were significantly lower (p < 0.0001) among the Warao Amerindians, exhibiting higher levels of IgE (p < 0.0001) and lower levels of IgG4 (p < 0.0001) compared to their non-Amerindian counterparts. IgE levels correlated inversely with the proportion of re-infected children, whereas the levels of IgG4 were positively associated. These results suggest that ethnicity may influence the balance of IgE/IgG4 levels, modulating the intensity of A. lumbricoides and the resistance to the infection.