Diphtheria Antitoxin Levels in the Netherlands: a Population-Based Study
In a population-based study in the Netherlands, diphtheria antitoxin antibodies were measured with a toxin-binding inhibition assay in 9,134 sera from the general population and religious communities refusing vaccination. The Dutch immunization program appears to induce long-term protection against...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1999-10-01
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| Series: | Emerging Infectious Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/5/5/99-0511_article |
| Summary: | In a population-based study in the Netherlands, diphtheria antitoxin antibodies were measured with a toxin-binding inhibition assay in 9,134 sera from the general population and religious communities refusing vaccination. The Dutch immunization program appears to induce long-term protection against diphtheria. However, a substantial number of adults born before the program was introduced had no protective diphtheria antibody levels. Although herd immunity seems adequate, long-term population protection cannot be assured. As more than 60% of orthodox reformed persons have antibody levels lower than 0.01 IU/ml, introduction of diphtheria into religious communities refusing vaccination may constitute a danger of spread of the bacterium. |
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| ISSN: | 1080-6040 1080-6059 |