02036nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002600055653002400081653001800105653001600123653001100139653002100150653001200171653002500183653001400208653002600222100001500248700001500263700001200278700001500290700001300305245013700318300001100455490000700466520124700473022001401720       1987                            d  c1987 Dec10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAntigens, Bacterial10aDisaccharides10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aImmunoglobulin M10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aPolynesia10aSerum Albumin, Bovine1 aChanteau S1 aCartel J L1 aGuidi C1 aPlichart R1 aBach M A00aSeroepidemiological study on 724 household contacts of leprosy patients in French Polynesia using disaccharide-octyl-BSA as antigen.  a626-320 v553 a<p>A seroepidemiological surveillance of a contact population was started in 1984 in French Polynesia. The ELISA test was used to measure IgM anti-ND-O-BSA in the sera. Specific antibody levels were higher in healthy Polynesians than in normal individuals living in a nonendemic country. The positive threshold of the reaction was fixed according to this background activity in healthy Polynesians. Under these conditions, 100% of the multibacillary patients were detected as seropositive as compared to 5% of the paucibacillary group. In the population of 724 household contacts tested and observed for 2 years: 93 (12.8%) were seropositive, with 8 (1.1%) showing activity equivalent to multibacillary patients (1 of these 8 individuals developed a lepromatous form of leprosy); 631 (87%) were seronegative and 3 developed a paucibacillary form of the disease (2 BT, 1 I) without any antibody increase. Among those four contacts who developed leprosy, three were related to a multibacillary index case. These data suggest that this test may be useful for the prediction of multibacillary leprosy. A long-term surveillance of this high-risk population will be able to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of the serological assay.</p>  a0148-916X