Absence of Serological Evidence of Exposure to Treponema pallidum among Children Suggests Yaws Is No Longer Endemic in Kiribati.

This study tested antibody responses to Treponema pallidum to determine if transmission of yaws is taking place among children in Kiribati. Using a commercially available T. pallidum particle agglutination kit (Serodia®, MAST Diagnostics), we tested dried blood spots, collected during population-based trachoma prevalence surveys on Tarawa Atoll and Kiritimati Island, for long-lived treponemal antibodies. Dried blood spots from 1,420 children aged 1-9 years were tested. Only two were positive, suggesting T. pallidum is not being widely transmitted among children in the settings sampled. These data require support from additional surveys to demonstrate the absence of clinical signs of disease and molecular evidence of infection, to confirm that yaws is no longer endemic in Kiribati.
PMID: 30719964 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Am J Trop Med Hyg - February 4, 2019 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Handley BL, Butcher R, Taoaba R, Roberts CH, Cama A, Müller A, Solomon AW, Tekeraoi R, Marks M Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research