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The Stonehouse study: secretor status and carriage of Neisseria species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

C. C. Blackwell ,
D. M. Weir ,
V. S. James ,
K. A. V. Cartwright ,
J. M. Stuart  and
D. M. Jones
C. C. Blackwell
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology, University of Edinburgh
D. M. Weir
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology, University of Edinburgh
V. S. James
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology, University of Edinburgh
K. A. V. Cartwright
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Gloucester GL1 3NH
J. M. Stuart
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine, Gloucester GL1 1LY
D. M. Jones
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Manchester M20 8LR
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The genetically determined inability to secrete the water-soluble glycoprotein form of the ABO blood group antigens into saliva and other body fluids is a recognized risk factor for meningococcal disease. During a community-wide investigation of a prolonged outbreak of disease due to a B15: P1.16 sulphonamideresistant strain of Neisseria meningitidis in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire (the Stonehouse survey), the ABO blood group and secretor status of almost 5000 residents was determined.

The proportion of non-secretors in the Stonehouse population was significantly higher than the proportion of non-secretors among blood donors in the South West Region and in England generally. Seven of 13 Stonehouse residents with meningococcal disease who were tested were found to be non-secretors, a high proportion. The outbreak in Stonehouse cannot be explained solely in terms of the increased proportion of non-secretors. There was no clear correlation between the proportions of non-secretors in different areas within the town and the incidence of cases of meningococcal disease.

Carriers of meningococci, whether outbreak or other strains, were not more likely to be non-secretors. The reasons why non-secretors are more susceptible to meningococcal disease remain to be determined, but they do not appear to be related to carriage of meningococci.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 102 , Issue 1 , February 1989 , pp. 1 - 10
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

References

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