bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Studies on the significance of “Vi Antigen” in the Mechanism of Typhoid Infection in Mice
Authors: Ørskov J. , Kauffmann F.
Published: May 2009

Summary

We have been able to confirm all the experimental results of Felix and his collaborators in regard to the Vi antigen and its significance in mouse infections. In the interpretation of some of the findings we are, however, not quite in agreement with Felix.

When large doses of living V forms of typhoid bacilli are injected into the mouse they cause acute intoxication followed by death within 2 days—if the animals die. Surviving animals are clinically healthy after this time, often earlier, but they are nevertheless found to be massively infected in the organs and blood for several days.

When smaller, non-intoxicating, doses are used it is not possible to demonstrate any difference between the V form and the W form of the same strain in regard to the severity of the infection they cause; so that we may conclude that the Vi antigen plays no part in the virulence of the typhoid bacillus in the mouse. (Remember in this connexion that the dysentery bacillus is also very toxic for mice injected in large doses, while its virulence, i.e. the ability to grow in the mouse is = 0; but when rapidly fatal doses are used a massive growth of dysentery bacilli can also be demonstrated here, the cause being that the natural immunity has become partly neutralized by the intoxication.)

Like Felix we find that only the V form can be used both for active vaccination and the production of sera which protect against lethal doses of V forms in mouse experiments. We consider that this is due to the antitoxic effect. Our experiments show that the anti-bacterial effect in vaccination experiments differs little whether the V or the W form is used as vaccine, so long as the vaccinal effect is tested with non-toxic doses of bacilli. As shown in earlier experiments, the bactericidal effect in actively vaccinated animals is often a relatively slow process.

Only the Vi antibody containing sera can protect prophylactically with certainty against the toxic effect of living typhoid bacilli. On the other hand; the bactericidal effect prophylactically of 0 and 0 + Vi sera is very similar when tested against non-toxic doses of “virulent” typhoid bacilli.

The therapeutic value of potent Vi sera under the experimental conditions given was nil.
The Pneumonoconioses in South Wales
Authors: Cummins S. L.
Published: May 2009

In an article on Pneumonoconiosis published in 1935 I attempted to simplify the problem of lung diseases caused by exposure to dust in industry by means of a classification which might allow of the placing of individual cases into appropriate categories. The importance of some such classification has been emphasized during the past year or so by the gradual realization of the fact that, especially in the South Wales coalfield, cases of more or less disabling lung conditions are frequently met with which cannot conscientiously be fitted into the category of “silicosis”, as defined at the International Conference at Johannesburg in 1930. These cases cannot be “certified” for compensation under existing Statutes, and yet present a picture of respiratory distress and dyspnoea on exertion which marks them out as quite unfit for work.
The Sterilization of Anti-typhoid Vaccine
Authors: Schütze Harry
Published: May 2009

Our knowledge of the antigens of the typhoid bacillus has recently been enlarged by the investigations of Felix & Pitt (1934).

It has been recognized that the Vi antigen, newly established by these workers, is not only a very important factor in immunity, but also apparently a more labile substance than the O antigen hitherto regarded as the portion of the typhoid soma vitally concerned with the production of prophylactic immunity.
Effects of Partial Obstruction of the Airways of the Lungs and the Influence of Sources of Heat
Authors: Hill Leonard
Published: May 2009

Physiologists have recognized for a long time that stuffiness in a close atmosphere is not due to diminution of oxygen or excess of carbon dioxide in the air breathed, or to any other impurity in the air. Such feelings are now shown to be due to the effect of longer infra-red rays on the skin, and are accompanied by a reflex narrowing of the air-ways of the nose and lungs. These effects are set aside by cool air acting on the skin and in many people also by shorter infra-red rays from bright sources of heat. This is why some people are much more comfortable with a bright source of heat than with a dark or dull red one. When people go out of doors to get a “breather”, or stand before an open window during physical exercises, they are instinctively using the stimulus of cold to widen their air-tubes. In open air treatment, and when sleeping with an open window, the same effect is obtained.

All rooms should be adequately ventilated with cool air to prevent stuffy feelings, and keep the air-ways open. Such ventilation will, at the same time, sweep away infection spread by “carriers”.

Partial obstruction of the air-tubes hinders the passage of blood through the lungs; it is this which causes failure of breathing when the obstruction is considerable.

Bleeding is of value because it relieves to a certain extent the impeded circulation.

Breathing through a narrow tube can be used as a test of fitness. An airway gauge has been designed for making such a test.
The spread of infantile gastro-enteritis in a cubicled ward
Authors: Rogers K. B.
Published: May 2009

The type strains ofBact. coli, described by Bray (1945), Giles & Sangster (1948), Gileset al.(1949), Tayloret al.(1949), Smith (1949) and Rogers (1951b), because of their very intimate association with epidemic infantile gastro-enteritis, have been used as indicator organisms to show that the method of cross-infection of epidemic gastro-enteritis is very like that of the cross-infection of burns.

It has been shown how a cubicle becomes widely contaminated within 18 hr. and that type strains ofBact. coliwill remain viable in dust for at least 27 days. Communal articles used throughout a ward are blamed for the inter-cubicle spread in a divided ward.

The intimate association of the α- and β-types ofBact. coliwith outbreaks of gastro-enteritis is demonstrated, and figures are given to show how these outbreaks prolong the patient's stay in hospital and waste valuable hospital space.
A hospital outbreak of typhoid fever. Bacteriological and serological investigations
Authors: Jones A. C.
Published: May 2009

1. An account is given of the finding of 19 symptomless excreters ofSalm. typhiand of 15 incubating cases (‘precocious carriers’) in the course of repeated examination of the faeces of 435 staff and patients at the hospital.

2. In a comparison of the frequency of isolation ofSalm. typhifrom the faeces it was found that the the selenite F enrichment method was more efficient than enrichement in Kauffmann 's tetrathionate broth, and that both methods were superior to direct plating on desoxycholate citrate agar.

3. Examination of sera from cases of typhoid fever showed that, in some cases, H- and O-agglutinin titres which would normally be regarded as ‘diagnostic’ may be reached well within the first week of illness.

4. Measures are described which were taken to exclude connexion between this outbreak and (a) a chronic carrier found during investigation of the hospital milk supply, and (b) the incidence of typhoid fever at another hospital.

5. A case of typhoid fever at Shrewsbury is described which was probably infected by an abortive missed case. Attempts to make a retrospective bacteriological or serological diagnosis of the latter were unsuccessful.

6. An account is given of the use of the sewage-pad method in an attempt to trace the source of infection in the case of a sewer worker who developed typhoid fever 14 months after the main epidemic and was probably infected by an intermittent carrier at the hospital.
Bacteriophage, virulence and agglutination tests with a strain of Salmonella typhi of low virulence
Authors: Felix A. , Anderson E. S.
Published: May 2009

1. The low Vi-antigen content and low mouse virulence of freshly isolated cultures of the Oswestry strain of Salm. typhi reflected its low virulence for man. This is additional evidence of the association between the degree of virulence of Salm. typhi and its Vi-antigen content.

2. The prediction that the epidemic caused by this typhoid strain of low mouse virulence would resemble a paratyphoid-B outbreak more closely than an average typhoid outbreak proved to be correct.

3. Sera from convalescent patients in this typhoid outbreak showed significant Vi-agglutinin titres in spite of the low Vi-antigen content of freshly isolated cultures.

4. The nutritional requirements of the Oswestry strain were unusual, and its sensitivity to the specific Vi-typing phages was variable. This caused considerable difficulty in the typing of the cultures.

5. Additional tests of identity had to be employed in order to distinguish the epidemic strain from other strains of the same Vi-phage type isolated in the vicinity. Colony size, colonial morphology, biochemical reactions and sensitivity to anti-O bacteriophage served as useful ancillary criteria.
The infectivity of chorio-allantoic membrane influenza virus and incomplete influenza virus by the six-hour soluble antigen productionl test
Authors: Beale A. J. , Finter N. B.
Published: May 2009

1. After inoculation of eggs with a large dose (108·6ID50) of influenza virus, chorio-allantoic membranes harvested from the 3rd to at least the 21st hr. (but not at the 1st or 2nd hr.) gave rise to large amounts of soluble antigen in 6 hr. in the chorio-allantoic membranes of sub-inoculated eggs (6 hr. soluble antigen production test). These amounts were larger than resulted from inoculation of equivalent numbers of ID50of standard allantoic fluid virus. By the conventional 72 hr. test, the infectivity of the chorio-allantoic membranes increased 1 hr. later, at the 4th hr. after inoculation.

2. Allantoic fluids and chorio-allantoic membranes harvested from passages of very large and of small amounts of influenza virus were tested by 6 hr. soluble antigen production. The relative amounts of soluble antigen formed by different seeds appeared to be determined by their ID50: HA ratios, irrespective of whether they were allantoic fluid or chorio-allantoic membrane preparations. Larger amounts of soluble antigen were formed in 6 hr. per ID50inoculated by preparations having lower ID50: HA ratios, i.e. containing larger amounts of ‘incomplete’ virus, and vice versa.

3. It is suggested that high infectivity in the 6 hr. soluble antigen test per ID50inoculated is due to a content of ‘incomplete’ virus, or of virus precursors: possibly these are in fact the same.

4. More particles of an incomplete virus preparation than of standard allantoic fluid virus must be inoculated to produce a given amount of soluble antigen in 6 hr. It is suggested that a process resembling multiplicity reactivation must occur in cells infected with more than one particle of ‘incomplete’ virus.
The Newala epidemic: III. The virus: isolation, pathogenic properties and relationship to the epidemic
Authors: Ross R. W.
Published: May 2009

This report on a large outbreak of disease, known locally as ‘Chikungunya’, in the Newala district of Tanganyika concerns the circumstances of isolation of strains of virus, some of their properties, and their relation to the epidemic. The work, reported here, started in Newala from 18 February to 10 March, 1953, and continued thereafter in Entebbe.
A laboratory technique for studying the insect transmission of animal viruses, employing a bat-wing membrane, demonstrated with two African viruses
Authors: Ross R. W.
Published: May 2009

To show that blood-sucking insects can transmit viruses which cause human diseases, human beings themselves must be used for experiments, or, as this is rarely possible, their place must be taken by suitable laboratory animals. For this purpose an animal species must be available with the following attributes: it must regularly circulate much virus in its blood after infection, and it must be susceptible to infection by the intracutaneous inoculation of a small dose of virus. None of the animal species available possess these attributes during experimentation with many human viruses. Insect transmission can often then be demonstrated by using the indirect method described in this paper.
The nucleic acid and carbohydrate content of influenza virus A and of virus fractions produced by ether disintegration
Authors: Frisch-Niggemeyer W. , Hoyle L.
Published: May 2009

The preparation of purified influenza virus from infected allantoic fluid is described, and its fractionation by ether treatment with the production of pure samples of soluble antigen and haemagglutinin.

Chemical analysis of intact infective virus showed it to have a nitrogen content of 9.3%, a carbohydrate content of 3.5%, and a content of ribonucleic acid of 0.7–0.74%.

Purified soluble antigen derived from the infective virus particle was shown to be a ribonucleoprotein containing 5.3% RNA. No carbohydrate other than ribose was found. Purified haemagglutinin was shown to be a mucoprotein containing 4.2% of a polysaccharide possibly composed of galactose and mannose in equimolar proportions.
An interference phenomenon caused by Pasteurella pestis
Authors: Parry W. R.
Published: May 2009

An interference phenomenon was produced by the intraperitoneal injection of broth culture dilutions of Pasteurella pestis grown at 28° C. into small white rats.

At a critical level of approximately 106Past. pestis L37 marked interference was produced. Doses of 104 or 107 killed rats readily.

Interference was produced by the addition of killed organisms, a cell-free vaccine or a live vaccine, to small lethal doses of L37.

Non-specific interference was produced by the intravenous injection of Indian ink prior to the intraperitoneal challenge with Past. pestis L37.
The estimation of the parameters of an exponentially declining population
Authors: Spicer C. C.
Published: May 2009

Methods are proposed for measuring the constants of an exponentially declining population under conditions in which the least-squares method is unsuitable. A table is given to facilitate the calculations.
Observations on the viability of Trichomonas foetus during the process of freezing to –79° C. and thawing in the presence of glycerol
Authors: Joyner L. P. , Bennett G. H.
Published: May 2009

1. It has been confirmed that Trichomonas foetus fails to survive freezing and thawing in the presence of 10 % glycerol in egg-yolk-citrate diluent. Under the same conditions adequate sperm survival was demonstrated.

2. Trichomonads were particularly sensitive to the toxic effects of glycerol when suspended in egg-yolk citrate.

3. Trichomonads will survive freezing and thawing when suspended in other diluents such as egg-yolk phosphate or milk.
A Note on the Preservation of Influenza Virus
Authors: Annear D. I. , Beswick T. S. L.
Published: May 2009

The main object of the experiment which this note describes was to determine whether influenza virus could be preserved by the ‘peptone-plug’ method of drying which has recently been found to be very effective for bacteria (Annear, 1956). Two other methods of preservation were also compared in parallel with it: (a) the centrifugal freeze-drying technique (Fry & Greaves, 1951) and (b) deep-freezing.
Incomplete Antibodies in Experimental Brucella Infection
Authors: Cruickshank J. C.
Published: May 2009

Incomplete antibodies demonstrable by the Coombs antiglobulin technique were found in almost all guinea-pigs inoculated subcutaneously withBrucella abortus.They were detected between the 20th and 30th day after infection and reached a peak between the 50th and 70th day, at which time their titre was 4—8 times that of the ordinary agglutinins.

Paper electrophoresis of sera from infected guinea-pigs showed a great increase in y-globulin as infection developed. Smaller increases in α1- and β-globulin were observed.
Immunization to Vi and O Antigens of Salmonella Typhi Using a Stable Antigen in Oil
Authors: Chu David C. Y. , Hoyt Robert E. , Pickett M. J.
Published: May 2009

A method is described for the preparation of a vaccine, consisting of a suspension of bacterial cells in a vegetable oil, which retains the antigenic activity of both Vi and O antigens of S. typhi. The ability of such a vaccine to induce active and passive protection in mice is demonstrated.
Two outbreaks of echovirus 14 infection: a possible interference with oral poliovirus vaccine and a probable association with aseptic meningitis
Authors: Hinuma Yorio , Murai Yoshimichi , Nakao Tooru
Published: May 2009

Two events concerned with echo virus 14 infection were reported.

The first, which occurred in Sendai in 1962, was that the intestinal infection with the attenuated poliovirus 1 vaccine was possibly suppressed by naturally occurring infection with echovirus 14. Echovirus 14 was isolated 10 days after the vaccine feeding in six out of nine cases, but poliovirus in only two cases. Six of the vaccinated babies did not exhibit antibody response to the poliovirus 1, while a significant rise of antibody titre against echovirus 14 was seen in as many as eight babies 7 weeks after the vaccination.

The second was a small outbreak of aseptic meningitis due to echovirus 14 in Aomori in 1963. During August to October, echovirus 14 was isolated from the faeces of seven patients with aseptic meningitis. The virus was also isolated from the CSF in one case. The antibody titre against echovirus 14 was detected in all the patients from whom the virus was isolated. In addition, echovirus 14 antibody was detected in four out of fourteen patients with aseptic meningitis from whom no virus was recovered. The onset of serologically positive patients was limited to the months of August to October.
Staphylococcus aureusstrains associated with the hedgehog,Erinaceus europaeus
Authors: Smith John M. B.
Published: May 2009

1. Strains ofStaphylococcus aureuswere obtained from the nostrils of twenty-three of fifty-eight hedgehogs; the skin of thirty-eight of fifty-six hedgehogs; the paws of thirty-six of fifty-seven hedgehogs and the anus of six of eleven hedgehogs.

2. Of 118 strains, 106 (90%) were typable with human staphylophages. Seventeen were phage group I, three phage group II, twenty-five phage group III, sixty-one were typable but unclassifiable into groups, and twelve were untypable.

3. Male hedgehogs were more heavily infected than females, while all ages of hedgehogs appeared equally susceptible to infection.

4. Of the 124 coagulase positive strains obtained, 107 (86·3%) were resistant to penicillin. Resistance to other antibiotics—chloramphenicol, streptomycin, tetracycline, erythromycin, celbenin—was not encountered.

5. Thirty-three (83%) of forty strains produced β-lysin.

6. Mites (Caparinia tripilis) and fungi (Trichophyton mentagrophytesvar.erinacei) did not appear to directly influence the carriage ofStaphylococcus aureuson the hedgehog skin.
Serological epidemiological studies with influenza A viruses
Authors: Schild G. C. , Stuart-Harris C. H.
Published: May 2009

Determinations were made of the age distribution of antibody to swine virus and representatives of the various families of human influenza A virus in 1961–62 collections of human sera and paired sera from forty individuals taken in 1952 and 1963:

(a) The existence of cohorts of the population, each with a dominant antibody type related to strains of virus first encountered in childhood, was confirmed.

(b) The basic epidemiological pattern was similar to that previously detected in 1954. However, it seemed that antibody to swine virus had been reinforced but not antibody to A and A1 strains.

(c) Neutralizing and HI antibodies to A/Equine/Miami/63 virus were detected only in the sera of older people (65 years or over) collected in 1964. No antibodies were found to A/Equine/Prague/56 or two duck viruses.

(d) Relatively constant levels of antibody to A, A1 and A 2 viruses were present in sera from aged persons but antibody to swine virus diminished with age. This could be attributed to a lack of swine antibody in the older females.
An evaluation of Rappaport's magnesium chloride/malachite green medium in the routine examination of faeces
Authors: Hooper W. L. , Jenkins H. R.
Published: May 2009

Rappaport's magnesium chloride/malachite green medium was employed in the cultural examination of 2476 faecal specimens in parallel with selenite F broth enrichment and direct plate culture on deoxycholate citrate agar. The use of the medium increased the salmonella isolation rate by 26% over the number of isolations from the other two methods, but proved of no additional value in the isolation of shigella organisms. The addition of Rappaport medium is recommended in routine faecal examination.
Ringworm carriage and its control in mice
Authors: Davies R. R. , Shewell Jennifer
Published: May 2009

The carriage of Trichophyton mentagrophytes (Robin) Blanchard by symptomfree laboratory mice has been described by La Touche (1957), Dolan, Kligman, Kobylinski & Motsavage (1958) and Mackenzie (1961). It may often be only the development of infections in the animal handlers which draws attention to the carriage of the fungus by the mice. These ringworm infections in man may take the form of a rapidly developing eczematous and vesicular lesion and the mouse carrier constitutes a significant hazard to the laboratory animal worker.
The bacteriology of tropical pyomyositis in Uganda
Authors: Foster W. D.
Published: May 2009

1. The bacteriology of the pus from 79 cases of tropical pyomyositis has been studied. In 74 cases Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in pure culture.

2. Phage typing showed that 60% of the pyomyositis strains belonged to phage Group II as compared with 22% for miscellaneous hospital infections and 21% for nasal carrier strains.

3. A high proportion of the Group II strains from pyomyositis were found to be penicillin resistant and it is thought that this is unlikely to be due to the use of penicillin therapeutically but is probably a natural characteristic of the strains.

4. Other suggested aetiological factors in pyomyositis such as leptospirosis and syphilis have been investigated but no association has been found.

5. The phage types of staphylococci found in Uganda have been compared with those reported from England and Australia and found not to be strikingly different.
Salmonella food poisoning associated with imported canned meat
Authors: Burnett R. C. S. , Davies B. I.
Published: May 2009

Two outbreaks of salmonella food poisoning are described. In one, involving 55 persons, the infecting organism was Salmonella reading, and in the other, involving 39 persons, S. tennessee. In both, epidemiological and bacteriological evidence pointed to imported cans of cooked meat as the source. The role of contaminated shop equipment in furthering the spread of infection is particularly emphasized.

Attention is drawn to the severity of the symptoms and prolonged excretion of the organism in a number of the patients infected with S. reading.
The first cycle of growth in the chick embryo of the agents of trachoma and inclusion blennorrhoea
Authors: Reeve P. , Taverne Janice
Published: May 2009

Chick embryos were inoculated with measured doses of various strains of the agents of trachoma and inclusion blennorrhoea, and the number of infective organisms they contained was determined at intervals during the first 4 days after inoculation. From curves of the yield of agent at different times relative to the dose inoculated, it was evident that the lag phase before the exponential phase of growth began was shorter for fast-killing—and more virulent—variant strains than for slow-killing strains, and the difference was statistically significant; and that variant strains multiplied faster during the exponential phase of growth and produced then- highest titres sooner.
Experiments on terminal disinfection of cubicles with formaldehyde
Authors: Beeby M. M. , Kingston D. , Whitehouse C. E.
Published: May 2009

The conditions for satisfactory fumigation with formaldehyde were investigated using suspensions of Staph. aureus and Ps. aeruginosa dried as drops on strips of polythene or after mixing with cotton dust. In laboratory experiments with controlled concentrations of formaldehyde and water vapour, satisfactory results were obtained at 86 % humidity, but at 32 % humidity the formaldehyde was virtually inactive.

Measurements under field conditions showed that the permanganate method of vaporizing formaldehyde did not vaporize enough water to produce optimum conditions for sterilization, and that great care was necessary in the sealing of rooms. When sterilization was incomplete the surviving organisms were not uniformly distributed within the room.

In the limited circumstances in which fumigation with formaldehyde is thought to be essential, the process should be controlled by estimating the formaldehyde and water vapour concentrations initially and after 3 hr.
Reactions and antibody response to live influenza vaccine prepared from the Iksha (A2) strain. (A report to the Medical Research Council by their Committee on Influenza and other Respiratory Virus Vaccines)
Authors: Beare A. S. , Tyreell D. A. J. , McDonald J. C. , Pollock T. M. , Taylor C. E. D. , Howells C. H. L. , Tyler L. E.
Published: May 2009

Two field trials of A 2 live influenza vaccine (Iksha) are described; the clinical reactions and antibody response in three earlier trials are compared.

The antibody response in the last two trials was unsatisfactory and was inferior to that observed in the earlier investigations. This reduction in response was probably due to an alteration in the virus during further passage.
Features of molluscum contagiosum in the north-east of Scotland and in Fijian village settlements
Authors: Postlethwaite R. , Watt J. A. , Hawley T. G. , Simpson I. , Adam Helen
Published: May 2009

Between 1964 and 1966 comparative studies were carried out in Aberdeen, Scotland, and in village settlements in Fiji on the clinico-epidemiological features of molluscum contagiosum. In Aberdeen there was a positive correlation between this disease and attendance of patients at public swimming baths. The preponderance of male patients in Aberdeen was attributed to their more frequent indulgence in swimming. Household spread of the condition was rare in Aberdeen but common in Fiji. Lesions frequently occurred unilaterally or were situated on opposing skin surfaces. They were mainly central in distribution in Aberdeen, the axilla being a site of predilection. In Fijians, peripheral lesions were fairly common though palms and soles were not affected. Peak age incidence in Aberdeen was 10–12 years, contrasting with a peak at 2–3 years in Fiji. Opportunity for contagious exposure appeared to be the main factor determining transmission of molluscum contagiosum between hosts, this opportunity occurring frequently and early in life in Fiji but only under special circumstances and later in childhood in Aberdeen. However, the age distributions in the two populations suggested the possible operation of immunological as well as environmental factors in determining the overall pattern of disease in the community.

We should like to express our thanks to the following people whose support and co-operation made this joint study possible: Dr K. J. Gilchrist, Principal of the Fiji School of Medicine; Prof J. A. R. Miles, Department of Microbiology, University of Otago; Dr C. H. Gurd, Director of Medical Services, Fiji; and Prof. A. Macdonald, Department of Bacteriology, University of Aberdeen. We are indebted to Dr T. E. Anderson and Dr R. A. Main of the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for referring patients, to Mr W. Hodgkiss of the Torry Research Station, Aberdeen for carrying out the electron microscopy and to Dr Peter Bennett, Nuffield Foundation Scholar in Tropical Medicine from Aberdeen in 1962, who brought to the attention of the Aberdeen workers the prevalence of molluscum contagiosum in Fiji. Part of the work was supported by a grant to R. Postlethwaite from the British Empire Cancer Campaign for Research. Mr (now Dr) Ian Simpson and Miss Helen Adam were supported by Nuffield Foundation Scholarships in Tropical Medicine, and Dr J. A. Watt by a Garden Research Fellowship from the University of Aberdeen.
Edwardsiella tardain a study of juvenile diarrhoea
Authors: Bhat Prema , Myers Ruth M. , Carpenter K. Patricia
Published: May 2009

Four strains ofEdwardsiella tarda, a recently described member of the Entero-bacteriaceae, were studied, They were isolated from four out of 832 children during a 3-year survey of juvenile diarrhoea at Vellore, S. India. Three of the four children had diarrhoea when the organisms were isolated and one was convalescent from bacillary dysentery. From this study and a review of the literature it appears thatEd. tardais found only infrequently in man and that its main reservoir may be in animals such as snakes and seals. It is suggested that this organism should be specifically looked for in cases of diarrhoea to determine its etiological role, particularly when the major intestinal pathogens are not isolated.

This work forms part of the studies on the etiology of diarrhoeal infections in children for the Ph.D thesis of P.B., and the grant from the Indian Council for Medical Research towards these studies is gratefully acknowledged. We also wish to thank Dr Sakazaki for serotyping the strains.
Investigations on the incidence of rinderpest virus infection in game animals of N. Tanganyika and S. Kenya 1960/63
Authors: Plowright W. , McCulloch B.
Published: May 2009

The incidence of rinderpest infection in game animals in selected localities of South Kenya and North Tanganyika was studied during the period 1960 to 1963. Serum samples from 590 wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), 48 eland (Taurotragus oryx), 65 Thompson's gazelle (Gazella thompsoni) and 39 Grant's gazelle (Gazella granti) were tested for rinderpest neutralizing antibody.

Rinderpest infection was shown to have been very frequent in yearling wilde-beest in the Mara area of Kenya in 1959/60, in the Serengeti National Park of Tanganyika in late 1960 and also in the Serengeti, and some adjacent areas, during the latter half of 1961. In the Ngorongoro Crater in 1961 infection was far less widespread, with only 11% of the yearlings acquiring antibody, compared to 67% in the Serengeti. The infections in 1959 and 1960 were clinical epizootics, accompanied by a considerable mortality, whereas no overt disease was reported in the course of 1961. Eland were affected in a similar manner to wildebeest up to 1960 but only a low rate of serological conversion was demonstrated in 1961. Adult Thompson's gazelle showed a low rate (ca. 12%) of infection but no anti-body was detected in Grant's gazelle.

Only a small proportion of the wildebeest calves born in early 1962 acquired antibody by mid-1963 and this was due, at least in part, to infection late in 1962; it was not clear, unfortunately, whether the positive animals belonged entirely to resident, as opposed to migratory, groups. No clinical signs or mortality were reported in this year.

A low incidence of rinderpest infection in wildebeest was also demonstrated both before and after 1960 in the Kajiado district of Kenya, where disease of game has not been reported in recent years. It is possible that the positive animals, as also the 1962 cases in Tanganyika, acquired the virus from low-grade infections of cattle.

The transmission of rinderpest antibody from wildebeest dam to calf, presumably via the colostrum, was demonstrated regularly, except in six calves about 1–2 weeks old. No completely satisfactory explanation was obtained for their failure to acquire passive antibody but it may have been due to abnormal disturbance in the herds, associated with the shooting. The antibody titres in calves were initially higher than those in the serum of their dams but by the end of the 3rd month this position had been reversed. Individual calves became serologically negative from about the 10th week of life and all were devoid of antibody by the 6th to 7th month. The half-life of passively-acquired antibody was 4·4 weeks.
The examination of samples infected with multiple salmonella serotypes
Authors: Harvey R. W. S. , Price T. H.
Published: May 2009

Attention is drawn to the confused epidemiological picture experienced in investigating outbreaks of salmonellosis due to multiple serotypes. Public Health Laboratories are often faced with the examination of specimens containing several serotypes and in this paper six techniques are described which have been found useful in dealing with this problem. The choice of technique depends on the time available for the examination and the epidemiological importance of obtaining an accurate result. A preference is expressed for an immuno-isolation technique, in which the bacteriologist is in technical control of the isolation of specific serotypes. The method is possibly open to objection on the grounds of serological induction of new serotypes, but we should regard this danger as slight in the majority of samples examined.
Staphylococcus aureus strains of phage-group IV
Authors: Meyer W.
Published: May 2009

Because the international basic set of staphylococcus typing phages includes only one member of group IV—phage 42 D—the group is insufficiently characterized. This set of phages is therefore not suitable for typing bovine strains of Staph. aureus. The addition of several further group IV phages would remedy this deficiency.
A morphological comparison of Bittner and influenza viruses
Authors: Almeida June D. , Waterson A. P. , Drewe J. Anne
Published: May 2009

By the negative staining technique both Bittner and influenza viruses are pleomorphic and have similar fringed surfaces. The present study revealed that Bittner virus had one characteristic form consisting of a head approximately 1000 Å. in diameter and a tail up to 3000 Å. long. On storage at −20° C. Bittner virus broke down to reveal a round internal component of 750 Å. diameter. Influenza virus did not break down on storage at −20° C. but a small number of spontaneously disrupted particles revealed that the internal component was in the form of a coil. The circular internal component of Bittner virus is presumed to be spherical and corresponds to the previously described type A particles as seen by negative staining. The complete enveloped particle corresponds to the type B particle of thin sectioning. It is suggested that the thinly sectioned mature type B particle may be a degenerate form of the so-called immature type B particle. In addition, it is suggested that certain murine RNA tumour viruses may have a morphology distinctive to them.
A study on the virus aetiology of mild respiratory infections in the primary school child
Authors: Pereira M. S. , Andrews B. E. , Gardner S. D.
Published: May 2009

A survey of mild respiratory disease in a primary school was undertaken over a 2-year period to determine which of the newer respiratory viruses were responsible for these illnesses.

The over-all isolation rate was low but a wide variety of viral agents was isolated.

None of these caused epidemics but it is suggested they may be the cause of a low but constant absentee-rate throughout the year.
Ward floors and other surfaces as reservoirs of hospital infection
Authors: Ayliffe G. A. J. , Collins B. J. , Lowbury E. J. L. , Babb J. R. , Lilly H. A.
Published: May 2009

Impression plates from initially clean horizontal surfaces and floor areas in surgical wards showed a rapid accumulation of bacteria, mainly micrococci, which reached a fluctuating equilibrium after about 24 h. A later increase in bacterial contamination (mainly with aerobic sporing bacilli) to a higher equilibrium level after about 14 days occurred on uncleaned areas. Walls, even if left unwashed, acquired very few bacteria, but many were deposited locally when the wall was touched by a subject whose skin carried large numbers of staphylococci; moist exposed plaster was also heavily contaminated.

Regular use of a disinfectant (‘Sudol’ 1 in 100) in cleaning a ward floor did not reduce the equilibrium level of bacteria on the floor.

The transfer of staphylococci from contaminated to clean areas on the soles of shoes was demonstrated; the use of tacky and disinfectant mats did not appreciably reduce the transfer of bacteria by this route.

Staphylococci deposited on a wall by a disperser were shown to be transferred from the contaminated area of wall to the hands of another subject who did not previously carry the organism; this subject was shown to transfer the staphylo-coccus to a wall which he touched.

Attempts to redisperse by air movementStaph. aureuswhich had been shed by a disperser or by a contaminated blanket on to the floor surfaces had little effect; neither blowing with a hair dryer nor brisk exercise appeared to lift any of the staphylococci from a vinyl surface, and only small numbers were lifted by these measures from a terrazzo surface.

The hazards of infection from the inanimate environment are discussed.
Antibody to streptococcal opacity factor in human sera
Authors: Maxted W. R. , Widdowson Jean P. , Fraser Cherry A. M.
Published: May 2009

Two tests are described for detecting antibody to the type-specific opacity factor (OF) of group A streptococci. This antibody was detected among patients convalescent from streptococcal sore throat in two communities in which out-breaks due to opacity factor-producing strains of group A streptococci occurred.

In an outbreak due to streptococci of M-type 22 there was a close correspondence between the distribution of anti-OF and of bactericidal M-antibody for the type. In a smaller outbreak due to M-type 58 streptococci, however, M-antibody was detected more often than antibody of OF.
The post-mortem diagnosis of influenzal infection by fluorescent IgG, IgA and IgM antibody studies on necropsy blood
Authors: de Silva L. M. , Khan M. S. , Kampfner G. , Tobin J. O'H. , Gillett R. , Morris C. A.
Published: May 2009

Necropsy blood from cases diagnosed as dying from influenza A was examined for specific antibody in the IgG, IgA and IgM fractions and a specific diagnosis of recent infection was made if either IgM or IgA antibody and low titres of IgG antibody were found. By these criteria a diagnostic rate of 77% was found in those cases from whom no virus was isolated. The use of infected cell monolayers grown on polytetrafluoroethylene-coated slides gave a simple method of carrying out these antibody assays, and the use of necropsy blood did not require any special methods of transport of specimens to the virus laboratory.
Social class and infectious mononucleosis
Authors: Nye F. J.
Published: May 2009

The socio-economic status of 80 patients with infectious mononucleosis was compared with the socio-economic distribution of the general population in the same area of south-west London. An excess incidence of infectious mononucleosis was observed among subjects from upper socio-economic groups. A possible relationship between this observation and the epidemiology of the Epstein—Barr virus is discussed.
Epstein-Barr virus antibody in cases and contacts of infectious mononucleosis; a family study
Authors: Nye F. J. , Lambert H. P.
Published: May 2009

Serological investigations were carried out on 147 patients with Paul—Bunnell positive infectious mononucleosis (IM) from the general population. All possessed antibody to the Epstein—Barr virus (EBV) and 63% showed serological evidence of recent infection. Contacts of 132 patients, 306 in all, were followed serologically; within 6 months of the index cases' illness twenty one contacts developed evidence of EBV infection or re-infection and of these five developed overt IM. The secondary attack rate of EBV infection among susceptible contacts was at least 19%; the corresponding figure for clinically apparent IM was 6%. EBY antibody prevalence among patients' siblings was significantly lower than among age-matched controls, suggesting that cases of IM come from families with a lower than normal previous experience of the virus. Of thirteen patients with persistently Paul—Bunnell negative ‘glandular fever’ four had serological evidence of recent EBV infection and two had probable cytomegalovirus mononucleosis. Recent EBV infection may have been associated with the illnesses of five of the remaining patients.
Studies on transmission of Staphylococcus aureus in an isolation ward for burned patients
Authors: Hambraeus Anna
Published: May 2009

A one-year epidemiological investigation was made in an isolation ward for burned patients. The transmission of Staphylococcus aureus was mainly studied. In spite of the design of the ward the cross-infection rate was high. In all, 49 of 69 patients were infected 114 times. Twenty-six of the strains causing infection were found in a patient only, 10 in a member of the staff only and 23 in both patients and staff the week before they caused a new infection. There were three epidemic outbreaks caused by three strains of Staph. aureus all belonging to phage group III; one was resistant to methicillin. Environmental studies with settle plates showed that the number of staphylococci dispersed by a burned patient was often very high. In 8% of the observations in occupied bedrooms the air count of Staph. aureus was more than 1800 col./m.2 hr. However, the counts of Staph. aureus in the corridor and service areas were low. This seems to indicate a rather good protection against airborne transfer of bacteria. Other routes of infection were probably of greater importance.
Micropolysporafaeniand farmer's lung disease
Authors: Fletcher S. M. , Rondle C. J. M.
Published: May 2009

Several methods were used to obtain serologically active materials from cultures ofMicropolyspora faeni. From the results of immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis tests on these materials it is suggested that preparations for the laboratory diagnosis of farmer's lung disease (FLD) should contain concentrated culture supernatant (CS) and extracts of mycelium obtained by ultrasonic treatment (MU). Although CS and MU have many serological activities in common they also possess activities unique to each.

Extraction of mycelium with trichloracetic acid, boiling water or methanol yielded a product which gave simple patterns in immunodiffusion tests. The products contained little protein but were rich in carbohydrates, particularly arabinose, galactose and glucosamine. A similar material was obtained from a cell-wall preparation by treatment with lysozyme. Antibodies to the serologically active substances in these materials occurred more frequently in sera of patients with FLD than antibodies to any otherM. faeniantigen.

Attempts to obtain serologically active materials from spores were unsuccessful. Moreover antibodies toM. faenicould not be removed from patients' sera by absorption with partially purified spore preparations. It is suggested that the hypersensitivity in FLD arises from exposure to mycelial antigens.
Salmonella javianainfection in an infant associated with a marsupial, the quokka,Setonix brachyurus, in Western Australia
Authors: Iveson J. B. , Bradshaw S. D.
Published: May 2009

Salmonella javiana, a serotype rarely isolated in Australia, has been recovered from the faeces of a 14-month-old infant with symptoms of enteritis.

The child had been closely associated with a marsupial species, the quokka, during a vacation on Rottnest Island in Western Australia, andS. javianawas isolated from faecal pellets from adult quokkas, and also from a snake collected on the island.

Sampling revealed a high incidence ofSalmonellainfection in the quokkas. In all, 62 out of 87 animals (71%) were found to be infected, and 17Salmonellaand 3Arizonaserotypes were identified from 100 isolations comprising 92 salmonellas and 8 arizonas. Multiple infections were frequently detected and up to four serotypes were recovered from individual animals.S. javianawas isolated from four quokkas.

A close parallel was observed between the serotypes isolated from quokkas and sea-gulls on the island, and abattoir effluents, lake waters, bird droppings and reptiles sampled on the adjacent mainland.

The epidemiological significance ofSalmonellaandArizonainfections in the quokka population and their possible association with the seasonal decline in condition and numbers of animals on Rottnest Island is discussed.
Thermal sensations of secondary schoolchildren in summer
Authors: Auliciems A.
Published: May 2009

Summer thermal sensations of secondary schoolchildren in England are compared with those earlier published for winter. Heat stress, contrary to expectation, is seen to decrease during the warm months, and neutrality is found to increase by some 6° F. (3·5° C.) air temperature, which is more than double the increases observed for adults under similar circumstances.
Salmonella dublin abortion in cattle: I. Observations on the serum agglutination test
Authors: Hinton M.
Published: May 2009

The somatic and flagellar serum agglutinin titre were determined in paired samples obtained from seventy-seven cases of bovine abortion associated with Salmonella dublin infection. The cases could be divided into four serological groups with an active infection being demonstrated in most cases. The serum agglutination test was shown to be a relatively specific diagnostic test but was of more limited value in the retrospective identification of convalescent cases.
Antigenic analysis of prototype influenza A (H3N2) strains by the antiserum absorption method
Authors: Tak´tsy Gy. , Barb K.
Published: May 2009

Prototype strains of the influenza A (H3N2) virus can be arranged on a gradient showing the degree of the antigenic drift which the haemagglutinins of the strains have undergone. The demonstration of fine antigenic differences is based on an antiserum absorption test which allows a detailed antigenic analysis of strains. The gradient provides information on variation in strains occurring in different geographical areas and its use may be helpful in differentiating between introduced strains and locally developing variants.
Typhoid fever imported from Mexico to Switzerland. Studies on R factor mediated chloramphenicol resistance
Authors: Waldvogel F. A. , Pitton J. S.
Published: May 2009

A case of typhoid fever caused bySalmonella typhioccurred in Geneva. The patient was probably infected in Mexico City. The strain isolated from this patient corresponds with the description of the MexicanS. typhistrain, since it is a degraded Vi-strain resistant to chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulphonamides and tetracyclines. It carried anfi−transferable R factor with a CSSuT resistance pattern. It can be accepted that this case forms part of the Mexican outbreak of chloramphenicol-resistant typhoid fever which has already been observed in visitors to Mexico from England and the United States.
A bacteriological study of endemic tuberculosis in birds
Authors: Schaefer W. B. , Beer J. V. , Wood N. A. , Boughton E. , Jenkins P. A. , Marks J.
Published: May 2009

Typing ofMycobacterium aviumstrains obtained in a study of endemic tuberculosis in a Wildfowl Reserve permitted the recognition of two separate infected groups. The main infection was in Anatidae and was due toM. avium, type 1; the other was in chickens used for incubation and brooding and the predominance in it of type 2 agreed with normal experience of birds, pigs and cattle in Britain. Many of the strains isolated from the Anatidae were aberrant and methods used to investigate these are described; two of the strains may belong to a new type. Birds which died from other causes, usually trauma, often had subclinical tuberculosis and 5% of the samples of mud and soil examined yieldedM. avium.