Evaluation of toxic assault on the immune system

As a consequence of increased industrialization, human exposure to environm ental toxins is growing daily. The effects of this exposure on the immune s ystem is potentially a major health problem. Studies following human exposu re have not unambiguously demonstrated a biologically significant weakening of the immune system, primarily because tests which show a high correlatio n with disease susceptibility have not been utilized. Such assessment of th e immune system is particularly important in developing countries where reg ulation of environmental contamination may be less vigorous. At the same ti me, the ability to perform screening of large population in this setting is impaired. Measurement of the antibody response to an antigen used for rout ine immunizations provides a simple but very informative assessment and is particularly well suited as a minimalist approach to immune system assessme nt in developing countries. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reser ved.