bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Seroepidemiological study of the transmission of the mumps virus in St Lucia, West Indies
Authors: Cox M. J. , Anderson R. M. , Bundy D. A. P. , Nokes D. J. , Didier J. M. , Simmons I. , Catherine J. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYA seroepidemiological study of the prevalence of mumps virus specific antibodies reveals a pattern of endemic peristence on the island of St Lucia in the West Indies. In the unvaccinated population the proportion seropositive rose rapidly in the child age classes to attain a stable plateau close to unity in value in the teenage and adult age groups. The average age at infection was estimated to be between 3 and 4 years of age and the average duration of detectable levels of maternally derived antibodies was approximately 3 months. Analyses based on mathematical models of the transmission dynamics of the virus suggest that in excess of 75% of each cohort of 1-to 2-year-old children must be effectively immunized to eliminate mumps virus transmission. A mumps radial haemolysis test, developed for quantitative measurements of antibody, is discussed.
Transmissible mupirocin resistance inStaphylococcus aureus
Authors: Rahman Mary , Noble W. C. , Cookson B. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYThe spread of two strains ofStaphylococcus aureuswith high level resistance to mupirocin is described. The resistance proved to be easily transferred to otherS. aureusstrains by filter mating experiments and on the skin of mice. No plasmid band corresponding to the resistance could be demonstrated by agarose gel electrophoresis or by caesium chloride gradient centrifugation but cleavage of ‘chromosomal’ DNA from resistant recipients showed bright bands of DNA absent from sensitive controls.
Natural or vaccine-induced antibody as a predictor of immunity in the face of natural challenge with influenza viruses
Authors: Davies J. R. , Grilli E. A. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYA study of influenza in residential schools provided the opportunity to assess the significance of antibody as a predictor of immunity. Five hundred and fifty-six pupils from 8 schools were included in the investigations, and the outcome for these children in 27 naturally occurring outbreaks of influenza was analysed. The outbreaks comprised 5 caused by strains of influenza A H3N2, 10 caused by strains of influenza A H1N1, and 12 caused by strains of influenza B. On 8 occasions a second outbreak of the same serotype occurred in a school.There was a general correlation between the presence of antibody to the outbreak strain and protection from infection. For each of the three influenza virus serotypes the infection rate in those with no detectable antibody was approximately 80%. Those with past experience of the virus but no antibody to the outbreak strain experienced lower infection rates (62% overall) but the infection rates were lowest in those with intermediate and high level antibody to the challenge strain (18% overall).Vaccine was used by three of the schools. The effect of antibody derived from recent experience, either natural or vaccine-induced, on subsequent challenge with a drifted strain i.e. one showing antigenic drift away from the previous strain, was compared. Intermediate or high level antibody to the challenge strain in those who had experienced a recent natural infection was associated with a low infection rate (9%). A similar level of antibody produced in response to vaccination was associated with a significantly higher infection rate (23%:P 0-025). Among the vaccinees who had produced such antibody the infection rate was highest (32%) in those who had responded to vaccine in the presence of antibody to the vaccine strain.The evidence from this study indicates that whilst antibody surveys of populations may provide some information about susceptibility to challenge with new strains of influenza viruses, the cirucumstances of the induction of the antibody affect its value as a predictor of immunity.
Viruses in acute gastroenteritis in children in Pune, India
Authors: Bright Singh P. , Sreenivasan M. A. , Pavri Khorshed M. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYA 2-year study from January 1981 to December 1982 was undertaken to determine the role of viruses in the causation of diarrhoea in hospitalized children in Pune, Maharashtra State, India. The stool samples of 426 children (213 diarrhoeal and 213 non-diarrhoeal controls) were investigated by electron microscopy and ELISA for the presence of viruses. Six morphologically distinct viruses were visualized: rotavirus, coronavirus-like particles (CVLP), adenovirus, astrovirus, calicivirus and small round virus-like particles (SRV). Rotavirus was detected in 28·6% of the diarrhoea! patients and in 1·4 % of the controls. The frequency of infection with rotavirus was highest in the children aged less than 5 years. The mean age of rotavirus-positive patients was 11 months. Although rotavirus was detected in almost every month, there has a seasonal trend for colder months when CVLP cases were fewest. However, the prevalence of CVLP was greater in the control group (23–0%) rather than in those with diarrhoea (8–9%). In the control group, CVLP were detected more frequently during the summer months. An inverse relationship between CVLP and rotavirus was observed in children. Adenovirus, astrovirus, calicivirus and SRV were detected in a small proportion of children with and without clinical symptoms of gastroenteritis.
Enhancement of the infectivity ofFusobacterium necrophorumby other bacteria
Authors: Smith G. R. , Till D. , Wallace L. M. , Noakes D. E. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYNecrobacillosis is caused byFusobacterium necrophorum(FN), but other organisms are often present in the lesions. Their possible role was studied in experiments made with a virulent FN strain which, by itself, produced fatal necrobacillosis in mice provided that large doses ( > 106organisms, subcutaneously) were given. Mice were inoculated subcutaneously with FN suspended in sub-lethal doses (0·1 ml) of undiluted or diluted broth cultures of other bacteria. Undiluted culture of a strain ofEscherichia colireduced the infective dose of FX to < 10 organisms: in the necrobacillosis lesions that developed, fusobacteria greatly outnumberedE. coli. A heat-killed preparation or sterile filtrate ofE. coliculture had little if any effect on FN.Citrobacter freundiiand comparativelv small numbers ofCorynebacterium (Actinomyces) pyogenesproduced effects similar to that ofE. coli. An α-haemolvtic streptococcus.Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Bacteroides fragilisandFusobacterium nudeatumalso enhanced the infectivity of FN. though less strikingly thanE. coli. FN increased the persistence invivoof the α-haemolytic streptococcus andB. fragilis, and enabled the latter to multiply profusely.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from China characterized by digestion of total DNA with restriction enzymes
Authors: Hall L. M. C. , Jordens J. Z. , Wang F. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYA series of clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from two hospitals in China was examined. Fragment patterns obtained by digestion of total cellular DNA with restriction enzymes were used to characterize the isolates, in combination with phage-typing, antibiotic resistance profile, and plasmid profile. Digestion of total cellular DNA with restriction enzymes was most useful in discriminating between isolates and yielded additional information on the relatedness of non-identical isolates. In one hospital a single strain, resistant to a large number of antibiotics, had apparently become endemic. In the second hospital a number of distinct but related strains were present. The isolates were also related but not identical to the strain of MRSA endemic at the London Hospital.
Legionnaires' disease and the sick-building syndrome
Authors: O'Mahony M. , Lakhani A. , Stephens A. , Wallace J. G. , Youngs E. R. , Harper D. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYIn October 1985, six cases of legionnaires' disease were associated with a police headquarters building. Four were amongst staff who worked in or visited the communications wing of the headquarters and two cases occurred in the local community. A case-control study implicated the operations room of the communications wing as the main area associated with infection. This wing was air-conditioned and smoke tracer studies showed that drift from the exhaust as well as from the base of the cooling tower entered the main air-intake which serviced the air-conditioning system.Legionella pneumophilaserogroup 1 subgroup pontiac was isolated from water and sludge in the cooling tower pond. Contaminated drift from the top of the cooling tower was probably responsible for the two community cases. An additional discovery was that symptoms suggestive of the sick-building syndrome were associated with working in this wing.
Myxomatosis in farmland rabbit populations in England and Wales
Authors: Ross J. , Tittensor A. M. , Fox A. P. , Sanders M. F. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYThe overall pattern and consequences of myxomatosis in wild rabbit populations were studied at three farmland sites in lowland southern England and upland central Wales between 1971 and 1978. When results from all years were combined, the disease showed a clear two-peaked annual cycle, with a main autumn peak between August and January, and a subsidiary spring peak during February to April.Rabbit fleas, the main vectors of myxomatosis in Britain, were present on full-grown rabbits in sufficient numbers for transmission to occur throughout the year, but the observed seasonal pattern of the disease appeared to be influenced by seasonal mass movements of these fleas. However other factors were also important including the timing and success of the main rabbit breeding season, the proportion of rabbits which had recovered from the disease and the timing and extent of autumn rabbit mortality from other causes.Significantly more males than females, and more adults and immatures than juveniles, were observed to be infected by myxomatosis. Only 25–27% of the total populations were seen to be infected during outbreaks. Using two independent methods of calculation, it was estimated that between 47 and 69% of infected rabbits died from the disease (much lower than the expected 90–95% for fully susceptible rabbits with the partly attenuated virus strains that predominated). Thus it was estimated that 12–19% of the total rabbit populations were known to have died directly or indirectly from myxomatosis.Although the effects of myxomatosis were much less than during the 1950s and 1960s, it continued to be an important mortality factor. It may still have a regulatory effect on rabbit numbers, with autumn/winter peaks of disease reducing the numbers of rabbits present at the start of the breeding season.
A time series analysis of the rabies control programme in Chile
Authors: Ernst S. N. , Fabrega F. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYThe classical time series decomposition method was used to compare the temporal pattern of rabies in Chile before and after the implementation of the control programme. In the years 1950–60, a period without control measures, rabies showed an increasing trend, a seasonal excess of cases in November and December and a cyclic behaviour with outbreaks occurring every 5 years. During 1961–1970 and 1971–86, a 26-year period that includes two different phases of the rabies programme which started in 1961, there was a general decline in the incidence of rabies. The seasonality disappeared when the disease reached a low frequency level and the cyclical component was not evident.
Excretion ofYersiniaspp. associated with consumption of pasteurized milk
Authors: Greenwood M. H. , Hooper W. L. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYYersinia enterocoliticabiotype 1, serotype O.10K was isolated from 19 patients in the paediatric wards of a district general hospital over a period of 3 months. Fifteen cases were patients on the medical ward. Shortly afterwards.Y. enterocoliticabiotype 1, serotype 0.6,30 was isolated from a further 17 patients on this ward in 1 month. The same serotypes ofY. enterocoliticawere isolated from the pasteurized milk supplied to the ward. Epidemiological evidence indicated that contaminated pasteurized milk was the source of the yersinia organisms exereted by the patients.
Reduction in faecal excretion ofSalmonella typhimuriumstrain F98 in chickens vaccinated with live and killedS. typhimuriumorganisms
Authors: Barrow P. A. , Hassan J. O. , Berchieri A. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYChickens given orally at 4 days of age a smooth spectinomycin resistant mutant (Spcr) ofSalmonella typhimuriumstrain F98 excreted the organism in their faeces for approximately 4 weeks. Following oral administration of a nalidixic acid resistant (Nalr) mutant of the same strain 4 weeks later when later when the chickens had virtually cleared themselves of the first infection, these chickens excreted far fewer salmonella organisms and for a shorter time than did a previously uninfected control group of chickens which were infected at the same time with the Nalrmutant. Chickens inoculated intramuscularly at 4 days developed a similar immunity to challenge and also excreted the immunizing strain in their faeces. In contrast intramuscular inoculation or incorporation into the food of formalin-killedS. typhimuriumorganisms had little lasting effect on the faecal excretion of the challenge strain. Two attenuated mutants of strain F98 Nalrwere produced: one was a rough strain produced by lytic bacteriophage and the other was anaro Aauxotrophic mutant which had been cured of the 85 kilobase–pair virulence–associated plasmid. These mutants were avirulent for chickens, mice, calves and man and when ingested by human volunteers did not persist in the faeces. When inoculated intramuscularly into chickens they produced an early reduction in faecal excretion of the challenge strain (Spcr) which was not maintained. Oral administration of both strains produced reductions in faecal excretion of the challenge strain. This was much more noticeable with the rough strain which was itself excreted for a much longer period than the parent strain.
Prevalence of verocytotoxigenicEscherichia coliin ground beef, pork, and chicken in southwestern Ontario
Authors: Read S. C. , Gyles C. L. , Clarke R. C. , Lior H. , McEwen S. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYSamples of ground beef (225), pork (235) and chicken (200) were randomly selected from meat processing plants in the southwestern Ontario area. Supernatants of broth cultures of the samples were tested for verocytotoxins using a Vero cell assay. Neutralization of cytotoxic activity using antisera specific for three types of verocytotoxin (Verotoxin 1, Verotoxin 2 and Shiga-like toxin II) was performed on positive samples. Isolation of verocytotoxigenicEscherichia coli(VTEC) was attempted from positive samples. VTEC were confirmed asE. colibiochemically, tested for drug resistance, and serotyped. Based on neutralization studies, the prevalance of VTEC in beef and pork was at least 36·4% and 10·6%. respectively. This is much higher than has been reported from a survey of retail meats in which a method designed to detect onlyE. coliO 157.H7 was used. Isolations of VTEC were made from 10·4 % of the beef samples and 3·8 % of the pork samples. No VTEC were recovered from the chicken samples. The majority of VTEC isolates were susceptible to commonly used antimicrobial agents. A number of the serotypes of the VTEC isolates recovered have been associated with human disease; however, no VTEC of serotype O 157.H7 were isolated.
International increase in Salmonella enteritidis: A new pandemic?
Authors: Rodrigue D. C. , Tauxe R. V. , Rowe B. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYOver the past 5 years Salmonella enteritidis infections in humans have increased on both sides of the Atlantic ocean. The WHO salmonella surveillance data for 1979–87 were reviewed and show that S. enteritidis appears to be increasing on at least the continents of North America, South America, and Europe, and may include Africa. S. enteritidis isolates increased in 24 (69%) of 35 countries between 1979 and 1987. In 1979, only 2 (10%) of 21 countries with reported data reported S. enteritidis as their most common salmonella serotype; in 1987, 9 (43%) of 21 countries reported S. enteritidis as their most common serotype; 8 (89 %) of 9 were European countries. Although the reason for the global increase is not yet clear, investigations in individual countries suggest it is related to consumption of eggs and poultry which harbour the organism.
Binding of IgA and/or IgG is a common property among clinical isolates of group A streptococci
Authors: Lindahl G. , Stenberg L. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYCertain strains of group A streptococci are known to bind IgA and/or IgG via a cell surface receptor, which may act as a virulence factor. The distribution of such receptors among routine clinical isolates was studied, using a total of 225 strains and an assay based on the binding of radiolabelled immunoglobulins. Among 194 throat strains isolated during three different time periods in two different geographical areas of Sweden, 82% showed significant binding of IgA and/or IgG. Studies on 31 septicaemia strains, isolated over a period of more than 8 years, showed binding for 84% of the isolates. The binding strains were of several different T-types and could be subdivided into two groups, those binding both IgA and IgG and those binding IgG only. These data show that binding of IgA and/or IgG is a very common property among clinical isolates of group A streptococci.
Investigation of a pseudo-outbreak of ‘Pseudomonas thomasii’ in a special-care baby unit by numerical analysis of SDS–PAGE protein patterns
Authors: Costas M. , Holmes B. , Sloss L. L. , Heard S. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYForty-two cultures of pseudomonas comprising 28 clinical isolates from a pseudo-outbreak on a Special-Care Baby Unit and 14 reference strains, including 9 type strains, of variousPseudomonasspecies, were characterized by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) of whole-cell proteins. The protein patterns were highly reproducible and were used as the basis for a numerical analysis which divided the strains into 9 phenons. Two of the 28 clinical isolates were identified by biochemical tests asP. pickettiiand their identification was confirmed by SDS–PAGE as they fell in the same phenon as the type strain of the species. The remaining 26 isolates, which could not be identified on phenotypic tests, fell in the same phenon as three reference strains of ‘P. thomasii’. The protein patterns provided the first clear evidence thatP. pickettiiand ‘P. thomasii’ were separate taxa and that the ‘outbreak’ was polymicrobial in origin, in line with the probable aqueous source of contamination. We conclude that high-resolution SDS–PAGE of proteins provides an effective method of identifying and differentiating pseudomonads, especially where this cannot be done adequately using conventional biochemical tests.
Determination of colonization resistance of the digestive tract by biotyping of Enterobacteriaceae
Authors: Apperloo-Renkema H. Z. , Van der Waaij B. D. , Van der Waaij D. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYIn studies concerning the effect of antibiotics on faecal microflora, Colonization Resistance is an important parameter. Colonization Resistance correlates inversely with the number of different biotypes of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from faecal samples. Nine healthy volunteers were studied during 6 weeks, in order to determine the natural variation in the number of different biotypes of Enterobacteriaceae per faecal sample. The numbers of biotypes ranged from 1–15 per faecal sample, the mean number of biotypes varied between 2·6 and 7·3 different biotypes per faecal sample per healthy volunteer. Inter-individual variations of five biotypes in the mean number of biotypes per faecal sample are normal. We assessed the minimal number of faecal samples that should be taken for comprehensive biotyping so as to determine reliably the mean number of different biotypes representative for the Colonization Resistance of an individual. It was found that a minimum of four faecal samples was required.
Faecal contamination of water and fingertip-rinses as a method for evaluating the effect of low-cost water supply and sanitation activities on faeco-oral disease transmission. II. A hygiene intervention study in rural north-east Thailand
Authors: Pinfold J. V. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYAn intervention study was developed from risk-factors associated with faecooral transmission, based on the levels of contamination in stored water and fingertip-rinses from households in rural north-east Thailand. This was designed to improve: (a) handwashing, particularly before cooking/eating and after defecation; (b) washing dishes immediately after use. Verbal messages were administered to two intervention groups, one also received a plastic container with a tap to assist these activities. Indicators of compliance were the direct observation of soaking dishes and the presence of faecal streptococci from fingertip-rinses; the main outcome indicator was Escherichia coli contamination of stored water. The intervention group receiving the container was significantly better than the control for indicators of compliance (P < 0·001 and P < 0·01) and its stored water was significantly less contaminated (P < 0·001). There was no significant improvement to the other intervention group, although some features of the intervention had clearly been made available to the control group. Humidity was significantly correlated with fingertip contamination (r = 0·2; P < 0·001) and with the peak of reported diarrhoea around the beginning of the rainy season.
Crystal violet reactions of fresh clinical isolates ofStaphylococcus aureusfrom two British hospitals
Authors: Freeman R. , Hudson S. J. , Burdess D. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYWhen 168 fresh clinical isolates ofStaphylococcus aureuswere examined for their reactions on a medium containing 1 part in 100 000 crystal violet 50·6% of strains produced a purple appearance, 39·3% produced a white appearance and 10·1% produced a yellow appearance. Purple-reacting isolates were significantly associated with both invasive infections (P < 0·01) and hospital origin (P < 0·001). There were no significant associations between the crystal violet reactions and either animal contact or other properties previously reported to be characteristic of white and yellow-reacting strains (beta haemolysin and bovine coagulase production). The results of phage typing showed associations between susceptibility to group III phages and purple-reacting strains and between phage group II susceptibility and white and yellow-reacting strains. There was also a highly significant association between white reactions on crystal violet agar and susceptibility to lysis by a combination of all three groups (that is, I + II + III) and white-reacting strains were significantly more susceptible to lysis by phages 94 and/or 96, whether as a restricted pattern or as part of a broader pattern. The purple reaction on crystal violet medium may be a reliable marker of the ‘ hospital Staphylococcus’.