Age-specific prevalence of antibody to a synthetic peptide of the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum in children from three villages in Kenya.

The presence of antibody to the repeating epitope of the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum was determined in children 1 month to 10 years old from three villages in western Kenya using the synthetic peptide (PNAN)5 in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The percentage of antibody-positive children increased with age and differed in the three villages. The village with the lowest percentage of antibody-positive children had the lowest percentage of infections as determined by detection of blood stage parasites. The villages also differed in the age at which antibody first appeared. In one village, only 12% of the children had antibody by the age of 5; while in the other two villages, 60% and 73% had antibody by 4 years of age.