Complement fixing antibodies against selected viruses in diabetic patients and non-diabetic control subjects in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Sera of forty insulin-treated Nigerian diabetics attending the outpatients clinic of the University College Hospital (U.C.H.), Ibadan, and an equal number of non-diabetic control subjects matched for age, sex and social status were tested for presence of complement fixing (CF) antibodies against five viruses: Coxsackie A and B1, mumps rubella and enterovirus group antigen. Antibody levels to Coxsackie B1, mumps, rubella and enterovirus did not show any significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). The serum levels of antibody to Coxsackie A virus were significantly higher in non-diabetic controls than in the diabetics (P < 0.05). Previous exposure to these viruses may not be a significant factor in the aetiology of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in this environment.