bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experimental infection of monkeys withLeptospira interrogansserovarhardjo
Authors: Palmer M. F. , Waitkins Sheena A. , Fitzgeorge R. B. , Baskerville A. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYGrivet monkeys experimentally infected with two different strains ofLeptospira interrogansserovarhardjoshowed no signs of severe clinical disease. There were no significant macroscopic lesions in any of the tissues examined, but the organisms were demonstrated in various tissues by immunofluorescent technique and were isolated from the blood and urine of two monkeys and the kidney of one. Abraded skin was shown to be a viable route of infection in non-human primates.
A comparison of the distribution of pneumococcal types in systemic disease and the upper respiratory tract in adults and children
Authors: Smart L. E. , Platt D. J. , Timbury M. C. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYThe serotype distribution of 874 strains ofStreptococcus pneumoniaewas determined in relation to patients' age and to frequency of isolation from systemic disease. Types 14 and 18, in pre-school children, and types 1, 4, 7, 8 and 12 in patients over 5 years of age were significantly associated with systemic disease whereas type 23 in pre-school children, and type 6 in older patients was associated with upper respiratory tract carriage. No significant difference was found in the incidence of other types in systemic disease compared to upper respiratory tract carriage.Fifteen diagnostic pneumococcal antisera (to types 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22 and 23) sufficed for typing 87% of strains.
Q fever in the Netherlands: a sero-epidemiological survey among human population groups from 1968 to 1983
Authors: Richardus J. H. , Donkers A. , Dumas A. M. , Schaap G. J. P. , Akkermans J. P. W. M. , Huisman J. , Valkenburg H. A. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA sero-epidemiological survey, using an indirect immunofluorescence test for IgG against Coxiella burnetii (phase II), was carried out in the Netherlands. Serum samples taken in 1968, 1975, 1979 and 1983 were tested. Occupational groups with a supposedly high risk of infection (veterinarians, residents of dairy farms and taxidermists) showed a significantly higher percentage of seropositives than defined controls. The percentage of seropositive amateur wool spinners was significantly higher than that of the controls from the same region. Since 1968 there has been no increase in the percentage of infected persons, indicating that, contrary to earlier assumptions, Q fever has been endemic in The Netherlands for a long time already. The increase in numbers of notified cases of overt Q fever is considered to be the result of the recent introduction of a sensitive indirect immunofluorescence test for IgM antibodies against C. burnetii. Antibody percentages in all age classes between 1 and 64 years were much alike, suggesting that most infections occur in early childhood. This is in accordance with the finding that 35% of our patients are younger than 3 years. The possibility of infection related to childbirth and lactation is discussed.
The carrier food-handler and non-typhoid salmonellosis
Authors: Cruickshank J. G. , Humphrey T. J. 
Published: October 2009

The number of reported cases of food poisoning and food-borne disease continues to increase in most countries. The published figures are recognized as being only a small fraction of the true total and the problem is clearly both very large and international.Of the variety of micro-organisms responsible for outbreaks,Salmonellaspp. are by far the most frequently incriminated and in the United Kingdom these organisms cause over 90% of cases (Epidemiology, 1986). The almost universal presence of these organisms in certain common foods, their ability to grow in a wide variety of foodstuffs over a substantial temperature range, the ease with which dissemination occurs from person to person and the prolonged period of excretion following recovery are the properties which, taken together, distinguishSalmonellaspp. from other food-poisoning organisms. It is because of these characteristics that salmonellas are really the only food-poisoning organisms in which human beings as carriers pose potential problems as sources of outbreaks. This review is, therefore, confined to a consideration of the practical significance of the faecal carriage of salmonellas by asymptomatic food handlers, to an evaluation of the degree of risk, if any, that such a person may pose and to an assessment as to whether the time and money devoted to the investigation and exclusion of such persons is well spent.
A comparative study of strains of salmonella isolated from irrigation waters, vegetables and human infections
Authors: Ruiz B. Garcia-Villanova , Espinar A. Cueto , Carmona M. J. Bolaños 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA total of 181 samples of irrigation water from the farmlands of Granada were examined for the presence ofSalmonellaspp. At the same time 849 samples of the crops from these farmlands and of vegetables sold in city market-places were studied. Sampling was done regularly over the period of study which ran from March 1981 to February 1983. Isolates from these sources were compared with 93 salmonellas isolated from human pathological material at various hospitals of the city of Granada from 1979–80, and again from 1981–3.The most commonly isolated serotypes of human origin wereS. typhimuriumandS. enteritidis. In irrigation waters and in crops,S. typhimurium, S. kapemba, S. londonandS. blockleywere found to be the most common. The results indicate a close relationship between the isolates from the irrigation waters and those from the vegetables, but their relationship to prevalent human infections is less clear.
Comparative evaluation of the immediate and sustained antibacterial action of two regimens, based on triclosan- and chlorhexidine-containing handwash preparations, on volunteers
Authors: Bartzokas C. A. , Corkill J. E. , Makin T. , Parry E. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYThe degerming effect of a 3 min handwash with 2% triclosan, or 4% chlorhexidine, in detergent and enhanced efficacy of either antiseptic in isopropyl alcohol, was evaluated in volunteers. Handwashing with either antiseptic preparation reduced the normal flora by a factor of 10; alcohol rubbing by approximately a factor of 1000. Both regimens eliminatedMicrococcus roseus, artificially inoculated before every procedure. The sustained action of the same detergent preparations was further studied in gloved and ungloved hands by the Vinson's ‘finger imprint test’. In the gloved hand both antiseptics inhibitedStaphylococcus epidermidisfor 4 h. In the ungloved hand however, triclosan remained active longer than chlorhexidine. Whilst the activity of chlorhexidine was short-lived against a clinical isolate ofS. aureus, particularly in the ungloved hand, the sustained effect of triclosan against the same strain persisted for 4 h on either hand.
Prevalence and significance ofMycoplasma hominisandUreaplasma urealyticumin the urines of a non-venereal disease population
Authors: Furr Patricia M. , Taylor-Robinson D. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYUreaplasma urealyticumorganisms (ureaplasmas) andMycoplasma hominisorganisms (mycoplasmas) were sought in mid-stream urines collected from 200 men and 200 women attending hospital with conditions of a non-venereal nature. In addition, the urines from 100 male and 100 female healthy volunteers were examined. Overall, ureaplasmas were isolated four times more often than mycoplasmas. In individuals less than 50 years of age, the organisms were found in about 20 % of men and about 40 % of women. In individuals 50 years or older, they were found about one-third to one-half as frequently. Centrifugation of urine and examination of the resuspended deposit did not increase the isolation rates. In men, the numbers of organisms in the urine were usually small (< 103c.c.u./ml) with less than tenfold more in the urine of women. The occurrence of 51– > 1000 leucocytes per mm3in some of the urines was not associated with either the presence or an increased number of ureaplasmas/mycoplasmas, whereas they were associated with the presence of 105or more bacteria/ml. The significance of these findings in the context of defining the role of ureaplasmas/mycoplasmas in genital-tract disease is discussed.
The extent of surface contamination of retailed chickens withCampylobacter jejuniserogroups
Authors: Hood A. M. , Pearson A. D. , Shahamat M. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYEighty-two chickens purchased at 11 retailers (supplied by 12 wholesalers) in the south of England were cultured forCampylobacter jejuniby a method involving total immersion. The organism was isolated from 22 (48%) of 46 fresh birds, 12 of 12 uneviscerated (New York dressed) birds, but only 1 of 24 frozen birds. Viable counts of up to 1·5 × 106/chicken were obtained from fresh birds and 2·4 × 107/chicken from uneviscerated birds. Surface swabbing of breasts, thighs, wings and vents of fresh chickens showed that contamination was generally distributed over the carcasses. Salmonellas were found in only 2 of 69 of the fresh chickens.The prevalence of several Lior and PennerC. jejuniserogroups was similar in chickens and sporadic human cases of enteritis. Penner serogroup 4 (mostly of Lior serogroup 1) was found in 26% of human isolates and 14% of chicken isolates.The rising incidence of campylobacter enteritis during the last 6 years could well be a reflection of the increasing proportion of fresh chickens consumed over that period (32% higher in 1986 than in 1981).
Experimental colonization of broiler chicks withCampylobacter jejuni
Authors: Shanker S. , Lee A. , Sorrell T. C. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYMinimal colonization inocula for two broiler strains ofCampylobacter jejuniwere determined in broiler chicks aged 2–3 days and 2 weeks. Individually housed chicks were exposed to a single oral or cloacal challenge. Diarrhoeal symptoms were absent in all 380 chicks included in the study. Chick susceptibility to the twoC. jejunistrains varied. Colonization was effected by < 102−104colony forming units (c.f.u.) via cloacal challenge and 104–106c.f.u. via the oral route. Colonization inocula for 2-to 3-day and 2-week-old chicks were similar. Treatment of 1-day-old chicks with fresh adult caecal flora or an anaerobic broth culture of adult caecal flora did not inhibit colonization after challenge with low-doseC. jejuni. Susceptible chicks were colonized rapidly.C. jejuniwas detected in 167 of 189 (88%) colonized chicks within 3 days of challenge and persisted during the 2-week monitoring period. Our data suggest that colonization of broiler chicks withC. jejuniis effected more easily by the cloacal than the oral route and is independent of age.
Costing of a hospital-based outbreak of poultry-borne salmonellosis
Authors: Yule B. F. , Macleod A. F. , Sharp J. C. M. , Forbes G. I. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYPoultry-borne salmonellosis is the most common form of foodborne infection in Scotland for which the vehicle can be identified, yet little is known about the costs imposed on society by this disease, or the costs of preventing it. The present study identifies and values the costs of a hospital based outbreak of poultry-borne salmonellosis. Account is taken of costs falling on individuals, the health services and society as a whole. Depending on assumptions made about the value of ‘intangibles’, the cost of the outbreak is estimated to be between £200000 and £900000.
HTLV-1, HIV-1, hepatitis B and hepatitis delta in the Pacific and South-East Asia: a serological survey
Authors: Brindle R. J. , Eglin R. P. , Parsons A. J. , Hill A. V. S. , Selkon J. B. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYBlood samples from 13 locations in the Pacific and South-East Asia were tested for evidence of infection with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis delta virus (HDV). No samples were positive for antibody to HIV-1. Antibodies to HTLV-1 were found in samples from five locations, the maximum prevalence being 19%, in Vanuatu. Serological markers of HBV infection were found in all locations, the maximal prevalence being 88%, in Majuro, Micronesia. Antibodies to HDV in HBsAg positive sera were found in six locations with a maximum prevalence of 81% in Kiribati.
An outbreak of meningococcal disease in Stonehouse: planning and execution of a large-scale survey
Authors: Stuart J. M. , Cartwright K. A. V. , Jones D. M. , Noah N. D. , Wall R. J. , Blackwell C. Caroline , Jephcott A. E. , Ferguson I. R. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYIn November 1986 a large-scale survey was undertaken in the Gloucestershire town of Stonehouse during an outbreak of meningococcal disease due to group B type 15 subtype Pl. 16 sulphonamide-resistant strains. There were 15 cases in Stonehouse residents during the 4 years from April 1983, an annual attack rate of 56·5 per 100000. Four secondary cases occurred despite rifampicin prophylaxis. The objectives of this community survey were to investigate patterns of meningococcal carriage, transmission and immunity and to determine the proportion of non-secretors of blood group antigens in the Stonehouse population find amongst meningococcal carriers. A total of 6237 subjects participated including 75% of the 6635 Stonehouse residents. Over 97% of the participants provided all three of the requested specimens – nasopharyngeal swabs, saliva and blood samples.The co-operation between the many organizations involved in the detailed preliminary planning was instrumental in the success of the survey; in particular the value of effective collaboration between Departments of Community Medicine and Microbiology and of the Public Health Laboratory Service network of laboratories in undertaking investigations of this size and type was clearly demonstrated.
The Stonehouse survey: nasopharyngeal carriage of meningococci and Neisseria lactamica
Authors: Cartwright K. A. V. , Stuart J. M. , Jones D. M. , Noah N. D. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA total of 6234 nasopharyngeal swabs was collected during a survey of the population of Stonehouse, Gloucestershire in November 1986 as part of an investigation into an outbreak of meningococcal disease. The overall meningococcal carriage rate was 10·9%. The carriage rate rose with age from 2·1% in the 0- to 4-year-olds to a peak of 24·5% in the 15- to 19-year-olds, and thereafter declined steadily with age. Male carriers outnumbered female carriers of meningococci by 3:2. Group B (or non-groupable) type 15 sulphonamide-resistant strains which had caused the outbreak were isolated from 1·4% of subjects. The age distribution of carriers of these strains was similar to that of other meningococci apart from an additional peak in the 5–9-year age group and a more rapid decline in carriage with increasing age. Variations in the carriage rates of the outbreak strain were seen in children attending different schools and in the residents of different areas of the town. The low carriage rate of these strains in a community during a prolonged outbreak supports the hypothesis that these organisms are less transmissible but more virulent than other strains of pathogenic meningococci.Carriage of Neisseria lactamica, which is thought to be important in the development of meningococcal immunity, was most frequent in children under the age of 5 years and was six times commoner in this age group than carriage of Neisseria meningitidis. In older children and adults female carriers of N. lactamica increasingly outnumbered males in contrast to the male preponderance observed with meningococcal carriage.
Multiply- and methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureusstrains isolated in the German Democratic Republic in 1985 and 1986
Authors: Witte W. , Braulke Chr. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYMultiply- and methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) strains have been isolated from five small outbreaks of nosocomial infection in five different hospitals. The MRSA were typed by phage patterns, biochemical traits, resistance phenotypes and plasmid patterns. Three different groups of strains can be distinguished. The MRSA from three outbreaks in one country share identical characters.Phage typing by the use of the International Basic Set for Phage Typing staphylococci as well as experimental phages does not completely discriminate between the strains. Attribution of several resistance determinants to plasmids in two of the described strain groups proved valuable for strain differentiation.These multiply-resistant strains are sensitive to vancomycin and to rifampicin.
Typing ofAcinetobacter calcoaceticusstrains isolated from hospital patients by cell envelope protein profiles
Authors: Dijkshoorn L. , Vianen W. Van , Degener J. E. , Michel M. F. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYThe usefulness of sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns of cell envelope proteins for classifying strains ofAcinetobacter calcoaceticuswas studied using 129 isolates from 16 in-patients in a teaching hospital. In 11 patients, all of the isolates from each patient exhibited the same pattern irrespective of the body site or time of isolation. The patterns of the isolates from four other patients were indistinguishable, with the exception of one isolate per patient. In the isolates from one patient five patterns were observed. In several cases isolates from different patients exhibited the same pattern. The relative frequency of some of these patterns was low. Epidemiological data were compatible with the assumption that the concurrent presence of bacteria of these patterns in the patients was the result of cross-infection. For one pattern, which was seen in seven patients, cross-infection could not be substantiated. On the basis of analysis of electrophoretic patterns in combination with epidemiological data on a number of strains it is concluded that cell-envelope protein profiles appear to be a useful aid in studying the dissemination ofAcinetobacterin the hospital environment.
The specific IgM response toMycoplasma pneumoniaeinfection: interpretation and application to early diagnosis
Authors: Moule J. H. , Caul E. O. , Wreghitt T. G. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYSpecific IgM antibody production in patients with serologically provenMycoplasma pneumoniaeinfection by the complement fixation (CF) test was studied using a μ-capture ELISA. Sera from 79% of patients were found to be IgM positive. Patients could be divided into two groups relating to the amount of specific antibody produced. High levels of specific IgM (≥10 units) were more commonly found in younger patients. Seventy-six per cent of patients under the age of 20 produced relatively high levels of IgM compared to 35% of patients over the age of 20. In contrast, the number of patients who produced low or undetectable levels of IgM ( < 10 units) was found to increase with age. This trend was found to be significant which suggests that low or undetectable levels of IgM may be due to reinfection withM. pneumoniae. Specific IgM was found to appear in the serum at approximately 7 days after the onset of symptoms, peaking at between 10 and 30 days, and then falling to undetectable levels at an estimated 12–26 weeks post onset of symptoms. Twenty-eight per cent of acute-phase sera (CF titres < 256) from patients whose sera subsequently showed a fourfold or greater rise inM. pneumoniaeCF antibody titre were IgM positive. Thus using μ-capture ELISA a diagnosis ofM. pneumoniaeinfection may often be made more rapidly than by the complement fixation test.
Detection of lymphoproliferative disease virus by an enzymelinked immunosorbent assay
Authors: Patel J. R. , Shilleto R. W. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYHitherto, detection of lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV), a C-type retrovirus of turkeys, has proved difficult since no tissue culture or serological assay has been available. Development of serological tests has been hampered by the problems of raising virus-specific antisera. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is reported, using a viral antiserum raised with bromelain-digested virus.The assay specifically detected purified virus at a concentration of 250 ng/ml or greater. In an experiment to detect virus in plasma from turkeys over a period of 4 weeks following LPDV infection, ELISA results correlated closely with the viral reverse transcriptase activity. Both assays were of similar sensitivity and detected small amounts of virus in high-speed pellets of turkey plasma. Evidence is presented indicating that LPDV-infected or hyperimmunized turkeys do not produce readily detectable circulating viral antibodies. In reciprocal ELISA tests, using antibodies to group-specific antigens of other avian retrovirus groups (avian sarcoma-leukosis (ASLV) and reticuloendotheliosis (REV)) no antigenic cross-reaction was found between LPDV, ASLV and REV.
Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B in Spanish prostitutes
Authors: Caballero L. Requena , Caballero C. Requena , Caballero I. Requena , López M. Sánchez , López F. Vázquez , Guerrero J. Romero , Jiménez M. Casado 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYEighty prostitutes wore tested by solid-phase radioimmunoassay for serum markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Of 8 (10%) with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), 6 (75%) also had hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg). Antibodies to HBsAg (anti-HBs) and to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) were found in 52 (65%). Antibodies to HBeAg (anti-HBe) were positive in 32 (40%). Anti-HBc alone was found in 5 (6%) and anti-HBs alone in 2 (2%). Sixty-seven (84%) were positive for at least one HBV marker and 13 (16%) were still susceptible to infection. Hepatitis B markers were more prevalent in prostitutes than in the normal Spanish population. Age, a history of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), drug abuse and promiscuity are factors which were highly related to hepatitis B markers. We concluded that screening prostitutes for the presence of markers and vaccinating those who are negative would be worth while.
An evaluation of a commercially available enzyme immunoassay test for the rapid detection of salmonellae in food and environmental samples
Authors: Harford J. P. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA total of 91 food and environmental samples were examined for the presence of salmonollao using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay kit (EIA) and a conventional culture technique. A 78% agreement was obtained, but re-examination of culture-negative, EIA-positive samples gave agreement of 86%. The problem of comparing EIA and culture results is discussed. A partially selective pre-enrichment broth was tested in 37 samples and gave better EIA ratios. Artificially contaminated cooked foods gave 100% agreement.
Comparison of procedures based upon Rappaport–Vassiliadis medium with those using Muller–Kauffmann medium containing Teepol for the isolation ofSalmonellasp.
Authors: Vassiliadis P. , Mavromati Ch. , Trichopoulus D. , Kalapothaki V. , Papadakis J. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA total of 308 samples of different types were examined for the presence of salmonellas by means of three different procedures. The first consisted of preenrichment in buffered peptone water followed by enrichment in Rappaport-Vassiliadis medium (P/RV). The second differed only in that 1% Teepol was added to the pre-enrichment medium (PT/RV). In the third, buffered peptone water with 1% Teepol was followed by enrichment in Muller–Kauffmann tetrathionate broth also containing 1% Teepol (PT/MKT). The first of these combinations (P/RV) proved superior to the others both in terms of isolation rates and in the appearance of suspicious colonies.