[Salivary IgA in a group of children with recurrent respiratory infections].

Salivary IgA were examined in a group of children with recurring respiratory infections (RRI) in order to complete research into the immunological profile of such children. IgA assays were performed in 21 children suffering from RRI both in the remission period (Summer) and during infections (Winter). No children revealed any real disorder in basic salivary IgA. Salivary IgA levels were however about ten times higher in the Winter (the infection period). In a control group of 15 healthy children in the same age range, IgA levels were also high in the winter but still lower than those found in the RRI group. It is therefore concluded that children with RRI do not, as has often been suggested, present any basic disorder in salivary IgA, but that the response of secretory IgA is far more sensitive to infection than the system as a whole.