Aim of the study: Yersinia spp., Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Borrelia burgdorferi are microorganisms from different taxonomic units. In the literature they are described as responsible for different types of arthritis of suspected bacterial origin, as well as concomitant other complications. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of specific bacterial antibodies in a population of healthy people.
Material and methods: The study included 90 healthy blood donors’ sera. Prevalence of antibacterial antibodies was determined by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) technique.
Results: Detailed analysis showed that, regardless of the antibody class, the most frequently detected antibacterial antibodies in healthy blood donors’ sera were anti-Chlamydophila pneumoniae (55.6%) and anti-Yersinia spp. (52.2%) antibodies. It may indicate a previous infection of this etiology. Much less often anti-Borrelia burgdorferi (12.2%) and anti-Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies (6.6%) were detected. The analysis of the correlation between prevalence of antibodies and donors’ gender and their age did not show specific differences. We observed a high percentage of the co-occurrence of antibodies for 2-4 tested microorganisms in donors’ sera (42.2%). What is more, there was a predominance of sera with antibodies concomitant to anti-Yersinia spp. + anti-Chlamydophila pneumoniae (27.8%). It may indicate cross reactivity or frequent contact with the microorganism and/or previous infection.
Conclusions: The obtained results may significantly reduce the diagnostic value of these serological tests in undifferentiated arthritis. The results clearly show that the serological diagnosis results of arthritis of suspected bacterial origin has to be always done in close correlation with carefully conducted medical history and the clinical picture.