Congenital transfer of antibodies against malarial sporozoites detected in Gambian infants.

A survey of the antibody response to sporozoites of Plasmodium falciparum was carried out on plasma samples obtained from 20 mothers and their newborn infants living in The Gambia, West Africa. Serological assays detected antisporozoite antibodies in 90% (18/20) of the mothers, and similar titers were detected in 17/18 of their infants. The antisporozoite antibodies were gradually lost from the circulation of the babies until by approximately 6 months of age positive reactions against P. falciparum sporozoites were no longer detected. A similar pattern of acquisition and persistence of maternally-derived antisporozoite antibodies was noted in a neonatal rhesus monkey born to a female immunized with sporozoites of Plasmodium knowlesi.