© 1974 Oxford University Press
research-article |
A Health and Seroepidemiological Survey of a Community in Barbados
145 Department of Epidemiology, Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, U.S.A.
23 Department of Pediatrics, Case/Western Reserve School of Medicine
6 Ministry of Health Bridgetown, Barbados
7 Connecticut State Health Department, Connecticut, U.S.A.
A health and serological study has been made on a random sample of households comprising 1,399 persons in Bridgetown, Barbados; serum samples were obtained on 1,118 or 80 per cent. Pyoderma was present in 21 per cent of 290 children under age 13; group A streptococci were isolated from 44 per cent of the lesions. Rubella antibody was present in only 43.4 per cent and was essentially absent under age 13. In contrast, antibody to cytomegalovirus was found in 78.5 per cent and to EB virus in 95.2 per cent; both antibodies were acquired early in life. Antitoxin levels to tetanus and diphtheria in children were at poorly protective levels in about 30 per cent of children under 11. Influenza antibody to A/Hongkong was present in 85 per cent but was judged protective in only 24 per cent. Dengue antibodies, present in 20 per cent, were essentially confined to people aged over 20 years, suggesting viral activity prior to 1951 and no outbreak since then. Preliminary tests for polio antibodies suggested poor levels despite an intensive immunization programme. A positive syphilis serology test was found in 7.7 percent of the population tested.
Revised 4 March 1974