摘要:

AbstractThe prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) was estimated in 3 tropical populations using 2 screening ELlSAs to detect antibody to the c100‐3 antigen and 2 supplementary assays designed to test the specificity of these tests. Two hundred and eighty‐six of 385 (74.2%) sera from Kiribati, 17 of 138 (12.3%) sera from Vanuatu, and 39 of 173 (22.5%) sera from Zaire were reactive in the initial screening assay. The proportion of reactive sera which were also reactive in the second screening ELISA varied between populations (55.1% in Kiribati, 85.1% in Vanuatu, and 39.2% from Zaire). Reactive sera were selected at random for confirmatory testing. Only 3 of 49 (6.12%) of sera from Kiribati and 1 of 14 (4.76%) of sera from Vanuatu positive in the initial ELISA were reactive in the confirmatory assays. The proportion of confirmed positive sera from Zaire was higher 8 of 28 (28.5%). Based on the results of these supplementary assays the estimated prevalence of anti‐HCV in these populations is 4.8% in Kiribati,<1% in Vanuatu, and 6.4% in Zaire. Reliance on a single screening ELISA to estimate the prevalence of anti‐HCV in stored sera from tropical communities may lead to a gross over‐estimate of the true prevalence in these po

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340302

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe chimpanzee is the only species other than man that is generally susceptible to infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Aspects of future studies on vaccines and therapeutics for HCV may continue to depend on the chimpanzee. In an attempt to determine the HCV status of the animals in a chimpanzee colony, the recently developed enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for antibodies to HCV was used. The results of the assay indicated that only 31.3% of the animals that had previously been inoculated with a non‐A, non‐B hepatitis agent were currently positive in the assay. A retrospective analysis suggested that an additional 20% of the chimpanzees had been positive at some time following infection. Seroconversion to an anti‐HCV antibody response using this assay did not appear to correlate with the severity of the initial disease or the development of chronic liver damage. Examination of the EIA‐positive samples using the second generation recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) containing four HCV antigens suggested that chimpanzees responded differentially to these antigens. Examination of serum samples from 139 uninoculated animals by EIA revealed seven positive samples and ten samples with borderline values. The nature of the reactivities in most of the positive samples could not be resolved, but analysis by RIBA indicated that at least one animal in the breeder colony had been exposed to HCV. Due to the low seroconversion rate and the uncertainties surrounding many of the positive reactions, this assay cannot be used to determine the initial source or extent of spread of HCV infections in the uninoculated

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340303

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe overall prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) cervical infection in 131 women attending a family planning clinic was 7% (HPV 6/11,16,18,31) by dot blot hybridisation, 53% (HPV 11,16,31) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and 56% by the two methods combined. HPV 16 and 18 were the commonest types (4% each) by dot blot, HPV 16 (39%) by PCR. Fifteen percent of subjects had mildly abnormal cervical cytology (grades 1A, 2A, or 3). There was no significant correlation between cytological abnormality and HPV positivity, or between cytological or HPV status and other postulated risk factors for cervical neoplasia.It is concluded that PCR is considerably more sensitive than dot blot DNA hybridisation in detecting HPV cervical infection in such a “low risk” setting, where HPV copy number may be low. Firm conclusions cannot be drawn from our results regarding a causal role for HPV or other factors in the development of cervical neopla

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340304

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractSamples from patients with genital condyloma acuminata or with cervical condylomas and/or dysplasia and from women without cytological/ clinical evidence of cervical affection were examined by dot blot DNA hybridization or the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR was much more sensitive than dot blot, more than doubling the human papilloma virus (HPV) findings. HPV DNA, mainly HPV 6/11, was detected in 18 of 19 biopsies of condyloma acuminata, whereas HPV 16 was most frequently detected in the 21 cervices (76%) with condyloma and/or dysplasia. HPV 16 was detected in eight of 103 cervical smears with no signs of infection. The prevalence of HPV 16 in cervical samples was somewhat higher than expected. This suggests that, in Oslo, HPV 16 is a common HPV type in women with cytologically normal cervices. HPV 18 was relatively rare and was detected only in combination with other HPVs.

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340305

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractAn outbreak of coxsackievirus B3 infection occurred in South Africa in 1984 with a variety of clinical manifestations being observed. Fifty‐one isolates from patients ranging in age from young babies to middle‐aged adults were obtained. To define further the epidemiology of this outbreak all isolates were characterised by either 1‐ or 2‐dimensional oligonucleotide mapping. One‐dimensional mapping was found to be highly successful for initial screening of the isolates before further characterisation by 2‐dimensional fingerprinting. All isolates were found to be essentially the same strain of coxsackievirus B3 although slight variations in both the 1‐ and 2‐dimensional patterns could be observed. Some coxsackievirus B3 strains from geographically unrelated regions but isolated during the same time period as the outbreak showed clearly distinguishable oligo

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340306

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractIn a prospective study of 287 patients who received blood transfusion, 26 who were found positive for hepatitis C antibody (anti‐HCV) by an enzyme‐linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) were studied by a recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA). Nineteen of the 26 patients had posttransfusion non‐A, non‐B (NANB) hepatitis. Sixteen (84.2%) of the 19 patients with hepatitis had positive results by RIBA, 2 had indeterminate results, and 1 was negative. By contrast, five of the 7 recipients without hepatitis were negative, 1 indeterminate, and 1 positive by RIBA. Those with negative RIBA results had significantly lower optical density (OD) readings by ELISA than those with positive RIBA tests. Therefore, patients without hepatitis or lower OD value have a higher false‐positive rate in anti‐HCV ELISA than did those with a high OD value or with evidence o

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340307

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractIn the course of an unlinked, anonymous survey of anti‐HIV seroprevalence among antenatal patients in the West Midlands, carried out between November 1986 and March 1990, seven out of 202,012 patient samples were anti‐HIV seropositive.Although the numbers of women infected by heterosexual contact are still low in this region, it is likely that HIV infection is no longer limited to well‐defined, male risk groups. It is therefore increasingly important to monitor the course of the epidemic through large‐scale unbiased surveys of the heterosexual population in order to plan future preventive and health‐care s

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340308

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractSerum or plasma from 69 HBsAg‐positive patients was tested for the presence of precore/core gene specific DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In both healthy individuals (n = 26) and chronic carriers (n = 25), there was a strong correlation between presence of circulating anti‐HBe and the absence of detectable HBV genome in serum. In 18 serum samples where HBsAg was the only detectable marker, i.e., anti‐HBc‐negative specimens, HBV DNA could be detected in three samples. HBV strains from 21 of the 24 PCR‐positive samples were sequenced over the precore/core junction. A stop codon at the end of the precore region, described by other workers, was found in strains from two blood donors, one of whom had detectable HBeAg in serum. Conversely, HBV strains from the three anti‐HBc‐negative patients where DNA of the HBV precore region could be amplified and who had no detectable serum HBeAg or anti‐HBe did not have this stop codon. The study indicates that further investigations are required before lack of HBeAg can be correlated with evidence of mutations in the

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340309

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractNineteen Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, seropositive for HBV e antigen (HBeAg) and HBV DNA on at least three occasions in 6 months, were randomised to receive either recombinant human interferongamma (rlFNγ) 0.1 mg/m2intramuscularly thrice weekly for 16 weeks (n = 11) or no anti‐viral therapy (controls, n = 8). Five patients in the treatment group and four patients in the control group had persistently elevated serum alanine aminotransferases (ALT) of over two times the upper limit of normal before entering into the trial.Rlfnγ had no or minimal inhibitory effect on serum HBV DNA during treatment and no patient developed e‐seroconversion or sustained loss of serum HBV DNA. Hepatitic flare, which occurred in a proportion of patients responding successfully to interferon‐α (IFNα) therapy, was not observed with rlFNγ treatment. Side‐effects included pyrexia and mild headache that showed tachyphylaxis and were well tolerated by all patients. In the control group, one patient with elevated pre‐entry serum ALT lost serum HBV DNA and seroconverted to anti‐HBe. Another patient with elevated ALT lost serum HBV DNA transiently during therapy. In the dose given, rlFNγ was safe but had no apparent anti‐viral effects in Chinese patients with ch

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340310

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe seroepidemiological profile of HBV and HDV was investigated in 640 male haemophiliacs. Twenty‐seven of forty‐four HBsAg carriers were anti‐HDV‐lgG positive, 22 were also anti‐HDV‐IgM positive. A markedly lower prevalence of HDV infection was found in patients with anti‐HBc in the absence of HBsAg and anti‐HBs (6/41). Repeated detection of anti‐HDV‐IgM in 5/41 individuals of this group indicates that circulating HBsAg is not an absolute prerequisite for chronic HDV infection.Overall, chronically active HDV infection was detected more frequently in quiescent than in active chronic HBV infections. Anti‐HDV‐lgM was not detected in the absence of anti‐HDV‐lgG antibodies. Anti‐HDV‐IgG may disappear after resolution of HDV infection, as indicated by the low prevalence (1/42) in such individuals with past HBV infection as well as by loss of anti

ISSN:0146-6615    

DOI:10.1002/jmv.1890340311

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY