Postinfection and postvaccinal antianthrax immunity in human subjects
Abalakin, V.A.; Dzhabirov, S.S.; Kalita, V.A.; Kuttugulov, V.K.; Amireev, S.A.; Knop, A.G.; Cherkasskiĭ, B.L.
Zhurnal Mikrobiologii Epidemiologii i Immunobiologii 6: 71-76
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0372-9311 PMID: 2145719 Document Number: 350235
Antibodies to Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA) and to the lethal factor (LF) of B. anthracis exotoxin in the blood sera of anthrax patients and of subjects with a history of the disease, as well as of persons immunized with STI live vaccine, were studied by the heterogeneous enzyme immunoassay. In 1-6 years after convalescence the levels of anti-PA and anti-LF antibodies (at 75% and 96% detection rates respectively) were higher than on weeks 1-4 from the onset of the disease. In persons having had anthrax antibodies belonged mainly to IgG, and the anti-LF antibody level was higher than the anti-PA antibody level. In persons immunized with STI vaccine the detection rate of antibodies somewhat increased in 2-7 months after immunization, reaching, on the average, 72%, the antibody levels after primary immunization and regular annual booster immunization being similar. In 1-2 years after primary (booster) immunization the isolation rate of antibodies decreases to 21%. Specific features of postinfectious and postvaccinal immunity to anthrax and problems of retrospective diagnosis of this disease are discussed.