bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antibody status to influenza A/Singapore/1/57(H2N2) in Finland during a period of outbreaks caused by H3N2 and H1N1 subtype viruses
Authors: Pyhälä R. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYThe incidence of haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody (titre ≥ 12) to influenza A/Singapore/1/57(H2N2) in sera collected from a Finnish population in the summer of 1981 was 58%. Subjects born after 1968 were essentially seronegative, and a comparable low HI antibody status was also recorded among the elderly, lowest being in people born during the period 1901–10. A small increase in antibody titre to the H2N2 virus was observed in the different age groups after infections with the H3N2, but not the H1N1, subtype influenza A viruses. The heterotypic response, which could be due to HI or NA antibodies, was restricted almost exclusively to subjects already exhibiting this antibody in acute phase sera. Moreover, the anamnestic boosting was not as strong as that described in earlier studies from samples collected at the beginning of the present era of H3N2 viruses.At population level, the HI antibody status to H2N2 was about the same at the beginning and end of the follow-up period which covered eight epidemic seasons. The results are discussed with respect to the doctrine of ‘original antigenic sin’ and to the threat of re-emergence of the H2N2 viruses.
Epidemic Coxsackie B virus infection in Johannesburg, South Africa
Authors: Schoub Barry D. , Johnson Sylvia , McAnerney Jo M. , Santos Isabel L. Dos , Klaassen Katalin I. M. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA particularly extensive epidemic of Coxsackie B3 virus infection occurred in Johannesburg in the spring and summer of 1984. A total of 142 positive cases were diagnosed by isolation of the virus from stools and other specimens (60) or by serology (82). Coxsackie B3 accounted for 87% of the isolations and was also the dominant serotype on serology.The outbreak involved predominantly children and young adults, with no apparent sex differences being noted. The majority of specimens came from the white population and no significant difference in age or sex distribution could be observed between the two race groups. The major clinical presentation in the white group was Bornholm disease followed by cardiac involvement and then meningoencephalitis. In the black group, however, myocarditis was the major clinical presentation, which is of particular interest taking into account the extremely high incidence of acute rheumatic carditis in this population and the prevalence of chronic cardiomyopathy.
Acute diarrhoeal disease in children under 7 years of age in a peri-urban slum of Santiago, Chile
Authors: Araya M. , Figueroa G. , Espinoza J. , Montesinos N. , Spencer E. , Brunser O. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA group of 168 families who lived in a peri-urban slum in Santiago were surveyed for 9 months. All of them had a child under 7 years of age. Medical activities and data collection were carried out at a Field Station and by means of twice-weekly visits to each home, at which time cases of diarrhoea were recorded and investigated. Faecal samples for bacteriological, parasitological and rotavirus studies were obtained during each episode. The characteristics of clinical course, hygienic practices in the family, and monthly anthropometric measurements of infants and toddlers were also recorded. The mean monthly incidence of diarrhoea was 7·1 episodes per 100 children. Of the episodes, 44·2% were associated with pathogenic bacteria, 14·4% with rotavirus, 38·4% with parasites and in 27·9% no enteropathogens were identified. It was found that adequate hygienic habits were not associated with a decreased risk of developing diarrhoea and that about 60% of children did not have diarrhoea throughout the study period. The nutritional status was adequate in most cases: weight-for-age was below the 5th percentile in 11·5% of subjects and the height-for-age was normal in all. No moderate or severe cases of malnutrition were detected.
Type A influenza (H2N2) viruses isolated in Leningrad in 1980
Authors: Golubev D. B. , Karpukhin G. I. , Galitarov S. S. , Denisov G. M. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYIn April-May 1980, two independent outbreaks of influenza-like illness occurred in Leningrad among children's-home children aged from 3 months to 2 years (of 68 children under observation, 50 became ill) and among boarding-school pupils aged 15–17 years (of 50 pupils under observation, 13 became ill).A total of five influenza A virus strains were derived from one clinically healthy and three affected children of the children's home. Similar viruses were obtained from one affected boarding-school pupil and from an infected woman aged 24 years (a sporadic case within a household). On the basis of laboratory findings, all these seven strains were identified as influenza A H2N2 subtype strains.Six of the affected children showed significant seroconversion only to H2 haemagglutinin from February to May 1980. Type A influenza H2N2 virus was isolated from three persons, including the sporadic case, who also showed significant seroconversion to H2 haemagglutinin. H2N2 influenza A virus was isolated on two occasions, at a 7-day interval, from the girl N. Ju.Laboratory findings obtained from the study of the viruses isolated using up-to-date immunological and molecular-biochemical techniques enable us to conclude the following. The A/Leningrad/80 isolates belong to H2N2 sero-subtype. The viruses isolated are similar but not identical to the A/Singapore/I/57 reference strain in details of polypeptide and gene composition.
The effect of two methods of cooking and cooling onClostridium welchiiand other bacteria in meat
Authors: Sutton R. G. A. , Kendall Margaret , Hobbs Betty C. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA comparison was made of beef cooked in conventional and moist air (Rapidaire) ovens. In both large (ca.4·5 kg.) and small (ca.2·7 kg.) joints, spores ofClostridium welchiisurvived after cooking but vegetative cells,Escherichia coli, andStaphylococcus aureus, did not, regardless of the type of oven usedCooling at room temperature after cooking permitted growth ofCl. welchii. Although some multiplication also occurred in the centre of large roasts cooled under refrigeration, the viable counts were considered too low to constitute a potential health risk
IgG, IgA and IgM responses in acute rubella determined by the immunofluorescent technique
Authors: Cradock-Watson J. E. , Bourne M. S. , Vandervelde Elise M. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYThe indirect immunofluorescent technique has been used to study the specific immunoglobulin responses in twelve adult cases of acute uncomplicated rubella. IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies increased virtually simultaneously. IgG antibody persisted throughout the period of study but showed a slight tendency to fall in titre after 7 months. IgM antibody was detected in nine cases. In these patients it was present in high titre 5–15 days after the rash but was not detected after 20 days. IgA antibody was detected in all cases. It was present in high titre 5–20 days after the rash but was no longer detectable after 29 days except in one patient who had a very low titre at 78 days. The presence of specific IgA and IgM indicates recent rubella in uncomplicated cases, and if the immunofluorescent method is used both types of antibody should be sought.
The influence of the route of immunization on the protection of mice infected intracerebrally withBordetella pertussis
Authors: Standfast A. F. B. , Dolby Jean M. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYThe development of immunity in mice toBordetella pertussisinduced by intracerebral, intravenous or intraperitoneal vaccination was analysed in terms of the viable bacteria in the brain after intracerebral challenge, the serum antibodies, and protection against the sublethal infection of the lung that follows intranasal inoculation.A vaccine introduced intracerebrally was five to ten times more effective than that given intraperitoneally or intravenously, as measured for each route by the amount of vaccine required to protect half the mice against an intracerebral challenge 14 days later (ImD50). Intracorebral vaccination induced higher antibody titres than vaccination by the other two routes. The survival of infected mice given 1–3 ImD50 doses of vaccine intracerebrally 14 days before, followed a pattern similar to that after intraperitoneal or intravenous vaccination with up to 10 ImD50 of vaccine: the numbers of organisms increased for 3 days and then declined. Injection of about four ImD50 of vaccine intracerebrally produced a local immunity, resulting in an immediate kill of challenge organisms given 14 days later. Such an effect following intraperitoneal vaccination was achieved only against challenges with an avirulent strain. It is suggested that better stimulation of circulating antibody and local immunity in the brain together account for the better protection induced by intracerebral vaccine.Immunity to an intracerebral infection appears therefore to have at least three components, each specific for pertussis. The first, like that induced by intraperitoneal and intravenous vaccination, reaches a maximum in 2 or 3 weeks and is probably an expression of a general response by the animal operating not earlier than 3 days after infection. The second is a local immunity, appearing after the same interval. The third is a short-lived local immunity which has been described by previous workers; it immediately follows the injection intracorebrally of ten times less vaccine than that needed to protect against a challenge 14 days later and lasts only 2–3 days. The second and third types result in immediate sterilization of the infection.Mice recovering from sublethal brain infection with avirulent organisms were immune to a second infection with a virulent organism, but this was achieved not by the ability to kill the re-infecting organisms immediately on injection into the brain, but only after the 3–4 days lag such as follows intraperitoneal vaccination.
The production of mastitis in cows by the intramammary inoculation of T-mycoplasmas
Authors: Gourlay R. N. , Howard C. J. , Brownlie J. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYSix milking cows were inoculated with bovine and human T-mycoplasmas and control materials into the udder via the teat canal. Control materials produced only a slight transient cell response in the milk. Bovine T-mycoplasmas produced clinical mastitis in nine out of ten quarters inoculated. Seven developed clinical mastitis together with visible changes in the milk, excretion of T-mycoplasmas and greatly increased cell counts in the milk. In three of these quarters, in two different cows, milk secretion ceased completely. Two quarters in a different cow showed visible milk changes, excretion of T-mycoplasmas and increased cell counts. Two quarters were inoculated with human T-mycoplasmas and neither produced any signs of mastitis.Infection of the udder with T-mycoplasmas did not stimulate high-titre serum antibody levels as measured by the metabolic inhibition test, but whey samples gave high titres in two of the cows that were able to control and resolve the infection.
Adenovirus, parainfluenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus antibodies in the sera of Jamaicans
Authors: Jennings Roy 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYSurveys for respiratory virus antibodies in the Jamaican population have shown that adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus and parainfluenza types 1 and 3 virus antibodies are acquired early in life. The incidence of haemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies to parainfluonza viruses increases rapidly with age and almost all adults possess parainfluenza type 3 antibody, usually in high titre. Parainfluenza type 1 antibodies are only slightly less common. Complement-fixing antibodies to the adenovirus group were also observed to increase in incidence with age.Complement-fixing antibody to respiratory syncytial virus was less common in Jamaican sera than antibody to the other respiratory viruses described here. The highest titres were observed in the youngest age-group.
Isolation for the control of infection in skin wards
Authors: Noble W. C. , White Pamela M. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYAn isolation policy in a hospital for skin diseases is reported. Patients carrying penicillin- and tetracycline-resistant organisms were to be isolated in single rooms, though barrier nursing was not practised. The policy failed because the single beds rapidly became blocked with long-stay patients and because even in a single-bed unit patients acquired staphylococci within 3–7 days of admission. Patients with skin diseases often do not feel ‘ill’ and resent isolation.
Observations on procedures for thawing and spit-roasting frozen dressed chickens, and post-cooking care and storage: with particular reference to food-poisoning bacteria
Authors: Roberts Diane 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA comparison was made of four methods of thawing frozen chickens and an average thaw time for each method was determined.Fully and partially thawed chickens, inoculated with salmonellas,Clostridium welchiiandSlaphylococcus aureuswere cooked in a spit-roasting oven at different temperatures for different lengths of time. The chickens were examined freshly cooked and after storage under various conditions.Spit roasting fully thawed chickens until the outer skin was golden brown was sufficient heat-treatment to kill salmonellas andStaph. aureusbutCl. welchiicould survive. Salmonellas could also survive if the chickens were not fully thawed before cooking.Incorrect storage after cooking was shown to encourage the growth of pathogens.The incidence of intestinal pathogens in frozen dressed chickens and environmental hazards in spit-roasting establishments were also studied. Of raw chickens examined 35% contained salmonellas (9 serotypes), 63% containedCl. welchiiand 63%Staph. aureus.
An epidemiological study of strains of Shigella sonnei from two related outbreaks
Authors: Thomas Mair E. M. , Haider Yasmeen , Datta Naomi 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYDuring the winter of 1967–8 Sonne dysentery affected neighbouring North London primary schools. This was not simply due to cross-infection between the two schools, for two different, unusual strains of Sh. sonnei were distinguished. One was a novel kanamycin-resistant colicine type 7 strain, and as far as we know this was the first school outbreak due to such a strain to be documented. The other strain was kanamycin-sensitive and of colicine type 0 with a rare specific requirement for aspartic acid. There was some evidence to suggest that the kanamycin-resistant strain was more infective for adults and possibly more pathogenic than the kanamycin-sensitive.Studies on the transfer of drug resistance and of colicinogeny revealed that the factor determining colicine type 7 was carried on a transmissible plasmid, a new observation. Various drug resistances were also transmissible experimentally, and some were spontaneously unstable. Non-transferable ampicillin-resistance in the colicine type 7 strain and aspartic acid dependence in the colicine type 0 strain enabled all but one of the isolates to be classified into two distinct lines. No common ancestor was found and it was concluded that although occurring together they must have arisen from separate sources.
Membrane filtration media for the enumeration of coliform organisms and Escherichia coli in water: comparison of Tergitol 7 and lauryl sulphate with Teepol 610
Authors:   A Joint Committee of the Public Health Laboratory Service and the Standing Committee of Analysis
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYIn a multi-laboratory trial with the mombrane filtration technique, three surfactants – Teepol 610 (T610), Tergitol 7 (T7) and sodium lauryl sulphate (LS) – were compared in media for the enumeration of coliform organisms and Escherichia coli in water. A total of 170 samples of water (87 raw and 92 marginally chlorinated) were examined for colony counts of coliform organisms, and 185 water samples (94 raw and 91 marginally chlorinated) for E. coli. Slight differences in the confirmed colony counts between the three media were noted, but few of these were observed consistently in every laboratory. In most laboratories, T7 gave slightly higher counts of E. coli than LS with chlorinated waters; a higher incidence of false-positive results for E. coli at 44 °C was also noted with T7. As there were no outstanding differences in the trial, sodium lauryl sulphate, which is chemically defined, cheap and readily available, is therefore recommended for use at a concentration of 0·1% instead of Teepol 610 in the standard medium for the enumeration of coliform organisms and E. coli in water by the membrane filtration technique.
Significance of enteric Gram-negative bacilli in the throat
Authors: Philpot C. Ross , McDonald P. J. , Chai K. H. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYPharyngeal micro-organisms of 131 Australian and Malaysian children and adults were compared by analysis of aerobic culture of throat swab specimens. Enteric Gram-negative bacilli were commonly isolated in small numbers from Malaysian adults whether they had sore throats (28%) or not (36%), but were detected in only 9% of Australian adults without sore throats and in only 12% and 4% of Malaysian children with and without sore throats respectively. In other respects microbiological findings were similar in the different groups of subjects studied.It is concluded that the pharyngeal carriage rate of enteric Gram-negative bacilli may differ substantially between different groups of normal individuals. Our findings also suggest that these micro-organisms do not have a pathogenic role in pharyngitis.
The bacteriological quality of minced beef in the U.K.
Authors: Roberts T. A. , Britton C. R. , Hudson W. R. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYMinced (ground) beef from three supermarkets, three intermediate-sized chain butchers and three small family butchers in each of three geographical areas was examined three times in warm weather and three times in cool. The total viable count (37 and 20°C), numbers of Enterobacteriaceae (37 and 17°C), and presumptive coliforms did not differ significantly between shop type or season. Statistically significant differences in numbers of faecal Streptococci,Staphylococcus aureusandClostridium perfringenswere too small to be of commercial importance, or diagnostic value.
Further studies on caprine and ovine mycoplasmas related toMycoplasma mycoidessubsp.mycoides
Authors: Smith G. R. , Hooker J. M. , Milligan R. A. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYNine caprine and ovine mycoplasma strains, said to be indistinguishable serologically fromMycoplasma mycoidessubsp.mycoides(the causative organism of contagious bovine plouropneumonia; CBPP) were examined in mice by (1) a mycoplasmaemia test, and (2) a cross-protection test. Of the nine strains, two from goats belonged to a small colony (SC) type; four caprine and three ovine strains belonged to a large colony (LC) type.The two SC strains – like a single SC strain examined in an earlier study – were indistinguishable from genuineM. mycoidessubsp.mycoidesas isolated from CBPP. They produced mycoplasmaemia readily. In a cross-protection test, the two SC strains and a CBPP strain immunized completely against each other.Of the seven LC strains, six – like six LC strains examined in an earlier study – were easily distinguished from genuineM. mycoidessubsp.mycoides; except for one that was not tested, all were shown to lack the ability to produce mycoplasmaemia readily. In cross-protection tests all six strains immunized partially but not completely against a CBPP strain.The soventh LC strain (Mankefár 2833) was exceptional: it produced mycoplasmaemia readily, resembling tho SC strains in this respect. Like other LC strains, in cross-protection tests it protected only partially against a CBPP strain. Strain Mankef´r 2833 was isolated inca. 1005 by Brack from a Barbary sheep (Ammolragus lervia) in a German zoo.The ability of Mankefár 2833 to produce mycoplasmaemia enabled it to be used as a challenge strain in cross-protection tests. For the purpose of such tests the collection of nine mycoplasma strains referred to above was augmented with six LC strains from an earlier study. Partial but not complete protection against Mankefár 2833 was produced by two caprine SC strains, one CBPP strain, and nine LC strains. Three further LC strains gave protection that may have been as strong as that produced by the homologous strain, but confirmatory experiments are needed. A strain ofM. mycoidessubsp.caprigave no protection against Mankefár 2833.
A note on some Enterobacteriaceae from the faeces of small wild British mammals
Authors: Healing T. D. , Kaplan C. , Prior Anne 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYOver a four-year period 878 samples of faeces were collected from five species of small wild rodents and two species of shrews at sites in England, Scotland and Wales. A search was made for Salmonella in these samples but no isolations of this genus were made. Several other genera of Enterobacteriaceae were identified.
Bacteriostasis ofEscherichia coliby milk. V. The bacteriostatic properties of milk of West African mothers in The Gambia: in-vitro studies
Authors: Dolby Jean M. , Honour Pauline , Rowland M. G. M. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYBacteriostatic activity was measured in 244 specimens of milk collected during 1977 throughout lactation of up to one year from 78 mothers; the activity varied from very good to fair and only seven were inactive. There was a wider range of activity than was found previously in milk from English mothers. Activity usually fell slowly during lactation but some of the Gambian mothers produced milk of very high activity, like that of colostrum into the second week of lactation, and two mothers did so at six and nine months; other mothers produced good-activity milk throughout lactation. The bacteriostatic activity varied little with the season but slight decreases from that expectcd were found after the high incidence of infant diarrhoea towards the end of the rainy season.The bacteriostatic activity of most of the milk tested could be prevented by iron salts but that of colostrum and some of the milks with high activity could not. Only these highly active colostra and milks were inhibitoryin vitrowhen the inoculum was increased from 104to 106organisms per ml. These and less active milks were able to inhibit the smaller, standard inoculum for longer than 3 h with the addition of bicarbonate and extra iron-binding protein at the concentrations likely to be presentin vivo. Both commensal and pathogenicE. coliwere inhibited to a similar degree by these milks and there was no evidence of serotype specificity.
Antibiotic residues in meat in the United Kingdom; an assessment of specific tests to detect and identify antibiotic residues
Authors: Smither R. , Lott A. F. , Dalziel R. W. , Ostler D. C. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYInvestigations were conducted between 1977 and 1979 to assess the performance of microbiological tests for detecting and identifying residues of therapeutic-type antibacterial substances in meat and offal. Of the 5442 home-produced meat samples examined, 34 (0·63%) showed inhibitory activity in the screening test, which used Bacillus subtilis BGA and Micrococcus luteus as indicator organisms. Identification by electrophoretic and thin-layer chromatography/bio-autography techniques confirmed that only two of the 34 screen failures were due to true antibacterial residues: a pig sample contained a trace of penicillin and a horse sample contained a trace of an incompletely identified substance resembling a tetracycline. Twelve of the other 32 failures in the screen test were due to naturally produced inhibition and were, thus, falsely positive, whilst the remainder were shown to be negative. All of the 85 (8·7%) screen test failures from the 972 imported meat and offal samples tested were falsely positive. Additional samples from certain animals known to have been given antibiotic treatment were tested concurrently to give a more searching indication of screen and identification test efficacy.