Serum immunoglobulin and complement values in onyalai. Comparison with black, San and white inhabitants of Kavango, SWA/Namibia.

The hypothesis that onyalai results from a polyclonal immune response and that complement activation occurs in its active phase was investigated. Serum immunoglobulins IgA, IgG and IgM and complement fractions C3 and C4 were measured in 21 black onyalai patients and 44 of their close relatives, 37 healthy black schoolchildren, 42 Barakwenga San, 10 Kung San and 18 whites in Kavango. An additional 4 patients with onyalai were investigated after splenectomy. Total complement level, circulating immune complexes and antinuclear antibodies were measured in an additional 6 patients with active onyalai. The results did not support the hypothesis.