LEVELS OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN SERUM SAMPLES FROM HEALTHY-CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN SAO-PAULO, BRAZIL

C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured by ELISA in the sera of 165 heal thy blood donors and 125 normal children 1 to 14 years old. The serum levels of blood donors ranged from 0.05 to 57.6 mg/l with median and m ean values of 1.8 mg/l and 4.86 mg/l, respectively. CRP levels ranged from 0.02 to 14.4 mg/l in the children's sera, the median being 0.45 m g/l and the mean 1.65 mg/l. No individual lacking CRP was detected. Th e high CRP levels observed in the present study suggest that the popul ation of the State of Sao Paulo may usually be exposed to subacute inf ections and/or inflammation without presenting clinical symptoms.