Humoral immunity following chickenpox is influenced by geography and ethnicity

Objectives To investigate the contribution of ethnicity and geographical location to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) serostatus and antibody concentrations. Methods The presence and concentrations of antibodies to VZV were measured in 639 Bangladeshi women born in Bangladesh (BBB), 94 Bangladeshi women born in the UK (BUK) and 262 White women born in the UK (WUK). The results were anaylsed in relation to demographic and social data. Results BBB women were significantly less likely to be VZV seropositive at all ages than both BUK and WUK women. However, the odds of a Bangladeshi-born woman being seropositive increased by 1.04 for each year under the age of 15 spent in the UK. In contrast, antibody concentrations were significantly lower in ethnic Bangladeshi women, irrespective of country of birth. White, but not Bangladeshi women, showed evidence of antibody boosting over time despite the latter having more exposure to children. Conclusion Geographical location during childhood is the major influence on age of primary infection with VZV while the level of antibody is related to ethnicity. Since the risk of re-infection with VZV following both natural infection and vaccination is increased as antibody concentrations fall, these results have implications for VZV vaccination programmes particularly in non-White populations.

Detecting the environmental impact of the Baltic Crusades on a late-medieval (13th-15th century) frontier landscape: palynological analysis from Malbork Castle and hinterland, Northern Poland

Palaeoecological analysis of peat deposits from a small bog, combined with pollen analysis of sediments infilling the moat of the nearby Teutonic Order castle at Malbork, have been used to examine the ecological impact of the Crusades on the late-medieval landscape of Northern Poland. Studies of the environmental impact of the Crusades have been almost exclusively informed by written sources; this study is the first of its type to directly investigate the environmental context of Crusading as a force of ecological transformation on the late-medieval Baltic landscape. The pollen evidence from Malbork Castle and its hinterland demonstrate that the 12th/13th–15th centuries coincide with a marked transformation in vegetation and land-use, characterized by clearance of broadleaved woodland and subsequent agricultural intensification, particularly during the 14th/15th centuries. These changes are ascribed to landscape transformations associated with the Teutonic Order’s control of the landscape from the mid-13th century. Human activity identified in the pollen record prior to this is argued to reflect the activities of Pomeranian settlers in the area. This paper also discusses the broader palaeoecological evidence for medieval landscape change across Northern Poland.