The aim of the study was to determine the seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in healthy horses living in 7 provinces of central Italy. In the period 2007-2009, sera from 386 horses were tested by microagglutination test (MAT) to detect antibodies to Leptospira spp., employing the following serovars as antigens: Bratislava, Ballum, Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae...

In the absence of genital samples, human papillomavirus (HPV) serology may be useful to assess HPV infection in young men and women. HPV seroprevalence and determinants of seropositivity were assessed in 817 female and 518 male university students in Busan, South Korea, of whom 74% and 44%, respectively, reported never having had penetrative sexual intercourse. Type-specific HPV DNA status, ass...

INTRODUCTION Tick-borne pathogens cause a spectrum of disease manifestations in both dogs and humans. Recognizing regional and temporal shifts in exposure are important as tick distributions change. To better delineate regional exposure to canine tick-borne pathogens, an expanded set of species-specific peptides were used to detect Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Aph), Anaplasma platys (Apl), Ehrlic...

In Switzerland, the prevalence and incidence of equine piroplasma parasite (EPP) infections are unknown. In order to obtain a first insight into the prevalence, a representative sample of 689 sera of horses from Switzerland was serologically tested for the presence of antibodies directed against T. equi and B. caballi using the Indirect Fluorescence Antibody Test (IFAT). A total of 50 (7.3%) ho...

Toxoplasma gondii is an important human health concern with respect to abortion, congenital hydrocephalus, and encephalitis in immunocompromised people. Cats and dogs both are potential sources of T. gondii because they have close contact with humans. However, no epidemiological surveys have been conducted in Tokyo over the past decade. Therefore, the present study investigated and compared the...

OBJECTIVE to ascertain the seroprevalence of antibodies to varicella-zoster virus in the Madrid population prior to the introduction of vaccination. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional antibody seroprevalence study. METHODS POPULATION persons aged 2 to 40 years in Madrid. Field work: September 1999 to April 2000. Data were collected on demographic and socio-economic variables and on a number of...

BACKGROUND There are several studies on seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in adults in the Middle East. OBJECTIVES To determine seroprevalence of HAV among adult population in Fars province, southern Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a cross-sectional study, we checked anti-HAV antibody (IgG) in subjects refereed to our health care centers to perform laboratory tests before getting marr...

In China, hepatitis E virus (HEV) is prevalent and causes disease, but its epidemiological profile is not well understood. We used a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect total antibodies to hepatitis E virus in 15,862 serum samples collected during the Third National Viral Hepatitis Prevalence Survey. The results were analyzed to calculate estimates of HEV seroprevalence and t...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The aim of the study was to determine the epidemiological shift that may have occurred in the last 11 years of Hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroprevalence. MATERIALS AND METHODS In 1998, we reported the anti-HAV seroprevalence in 711 children aged between 2 and 16 years children in Adana city center. Eleven years later we repeated the same study at the same locations in a similar p...

This study was conducted to evaluate age-specific seroprevalence of pertussis in Korea and to formulate a strategy to prevent and reduce the incidence of pertussis. Residual serum samples of healthy adolescents and adults 11 yr of age or older were collected between July 2012 and December 2012, and anti-pertussis toxin (PT) IgG titers were measured using a commercial ELISA kit. We compared the ...