Seroconversion and seroreversion rates of anti-Strongyloides IgG in rural areas of the Amazon: a population-based panel study

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2024 Dec 6:66:e72. doi: 10.1590/S1678-9946202466072. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Using a panel study design, we aimed to estimate the seroconversion and seroreversion rates of anti-Strongyloides IgG antibodies from surveys carried out 11 months apart in a rural community in the Amazon Basin in Brazil. We used enzyme immunoassays to measure anti-Strongyloides IgG antibodies in 325 baseline plasma samples and 224 others that were collected 11 months later from residents in the agricultural settlement of Granada, Acre State. We observed anti-Strongyloides IgG antibodies in 21.8% of the baseline samples (which showed that 3.4% of participants had larvae in their stool) and in 23.7% of the follow-up samples. The seroconversion rate estimated at 9.7 episodes/100 person-years at risk agrees with ongoing transmission. Specific antibodies were relatively short-lived and nine (25.0%) of 36 seropositive participants at baseline were seronegative when retested 11 months later. Fecal surveys can severely underestimate the prevalence of S. stercoralis infection in rural Amazonians. Serology provides a field-deployable diagnostic tool to find high-prevalence populations, identify associated risk factors, and monitor intervention programs.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Helminth* / blood
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Feces / parasitology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G* / blood
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prevalence
  • Rural Population*
  • Seroconversion*
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Antibodies, Helminth

Grants and funding

Fieldwork was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation (grants 03/09719-6, 04/00373-2, 2013/04236-9 and 2022/02401-1) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (grants 47.0281/2003-0 and 50.4332/2004-0); MUF acknowledges research scholarships from CNPq and Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, Portugal (institutional GHTM project, UID/04413/2020); FMP is a CNPq research fellow (310071/2022-4). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit this study for publication