bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hepatitis C virus infection detected by antibody tests and the polymerase chain reaction as a cause of liver dysfunction in renal transplant recipients
Authors: McCruden E. A. B. , Welch S. , Batchelor B. , Allison M. C. , Dow B. , Follett E. A. C. , Mills P. R. , Briggs J. D. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractHepatitis C infection (HCV) is more prevalent in patients who have received kidney transplants than in the general population but the morbidity and mortality associated with infection in this group is unclear. Sera taken from 36 renal transplant recipients with chronic liver dysfunction and from 42 with normal liver function were tested for HCV infection by second generation ELISA (Abbott Laboratories) and second generation recombinant immunoblot assay (Chiron Corporation) (RIBA‐2). Evidence of HCV replication was sought by reverse transcription poly‐merase chain reaction (RT PCR) using primers from the 5′ nontranslated region (5′NTR).Infection was detected in 20/36 (54%) and in 2/42 (4.8%) controls (P < 0.01). Twelve liver dysfunction patients were positive by all three tests, six were positive by ELISA and RT PCR but had indeterminate RIBA‐2, one was positive by ELISA and RIBA but negative by RT PCR, and one was positive only by RT PCR. Of two infected control patients, one was positive by all three tests and one who was later found to have been in the early stage of infection was positive only by RT PCR. Follow‐up of infected patients showed persistence of viraemia in 14/15 (93%). Evidence of infection with different types of HCV was shown by the lack of amplification by RT PCR by primers with mismatching bases with HCV types 2 and 3.It is concluded that in our renal transplant patients, chronic HCV infection is usually associated with liver dysfunction and persistent infection is common. © 1994 Wiiey‐Liss, Inc.
Conservation of precore and core sequences of hepatitis B virus in chronic viral carriers
Authors: Hawkins A. E. , Gilson R. J. C. , Bickerton E. A. , Tedder R. S. , Weller I. V. D. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractMutations in the precore region of hepatitis B virus (HBV) have been associated with failure of expression of HBV e‐antigen (HBeAg), however, the prevalence of these and other mutations in HBV carriers without overt chronic liver disease remains uncertain. Homosexual or bisexual males (n = 65) with chronic HBV infection attending The Middlesex Hospital, London were studied, of whom two had clinical evidence of chronic liver disease. HBV DMA was amplified from 62 of 65 serum samples using nested and double nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. Direct sequencing of the PCR products was employed to investigate sequence variation. HBV‐DNA from all available HBeAg‐negative (n = 9) and selected HBeAg‐positive (n = 33) sera were sequenced in the entire precore gene, the 3′ terminal portion of the X gene (aa128–154), and the 5′ terminus of the core gene (aa18–73). Sequences were highly conserved in all regions studied. Samples from two anti‐HBe‐seropositive patients contained mutations in the precore region. In one, a single mutation in the first amino acid resulted in a change to leucine, which would prevent translation of this region and therefore HBeAg expression. Wild type sequences were also detected in this sample. In the other sample from a patient with overt chronic liver disease, a mutation of precore amino acid 28 changed a tryptophan residue to a stop codon which would also prevent HBeAg expression. Although few such patients were studied, precore mutations may be uncommon in anti‐HBe‐seropositive patients without overt chronic liver disease. Possibly such mutations are not related to HBeAg to anti‐HBe seroconversion, but rather they may arise in patients who remain anti‐HBe seropositive for prolonged periods and they may be causally associated with the development of chronic liver disease. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hepatitis B virus infection in a group of heterosexuals with multiple partners in Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Implications for vaccination?
Authors: Van Doornum G. J. J. , Van Haastrecht H. J. A. , Hooykaas C. , Van den Hoek J. A. R. , Van der Linden M. M. D. , Coutinho R. A. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractThe aim of the study was to assess prevalence and incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among heterosexual men and women with multiple partners attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic and to establish risk factors of HBV infection in order to consider immunisation for those subjects. A prospective study of heterosexual men and women selected on having multiple partners and presenting to an STD clinic as new patients was carried out from October 1987 through December 1989. Follow‐up continued until December 1990 at the STD clinic of the Municipal Health Service of Amsterdam.Five hundred ninety‐eight men and women entered the study. More than 70% of both women and men had had commercial sexual partners in the last 5 years. Three hundred eighty‐one participants were born in HBV low endemic countries, 205 came from HBV intermediate endemicity regions. The prevalence of HBV markers in both men and women from low endemic regions was 10%, and for men and women from middle endemic regions 42% and 19%, respectively.Logistic regression analysis showed that number of years involved in commercial sex was an independent risk factor in male participants from HBV low endemic regions (odds ratio [OR] 1.10 per year) and for women sexual contact with men at high risk of HBV infection (OR 2.59). In people from middle endemic regions more men than women had HBV markers, HBV‐positive men were older than HBV‐negatives (OR 1.05 per year), and for HBV‐positive women the number of years involved in commercial sex was an independent predictor (OR 1.23 per year).No new cases of HBV infection were found in both groups (upper 95% limit of confidence 7.1 per 1,000 and 35.8 per 1,000 for the participants from low and middle endemic countries, respectively). The duration of follow‐up was 419.9 person‐years at risk for the group from low endemic regions and 83.7 person‐years for the people from middle endemic regions. The participants must be considered to have been at continuous high risk of heterosexual transmission.The incidence of HBV was so tow that we decided for the moment not to offer hepatitis B vaccination to all heterosexual men and women attending our STD clinic. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Serological evidence of hantavirus disease in Northern Ireland
Authors: McKenna P. , Clement J. , Matthys P. , Coyle P. V. , McCaughey C. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractSince, to our knowledge, no clinically documented cases of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) have been reported in Northern Ireland, a sero‐epidemiological study was carried out to assess the degree of Hantavirus immunity in a group of 627 Northern Irish patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of HFRS and 100 healthy controls.IFA screening for IgG Hantavirus specific antibodies was carried out with a panel of up to 9 different Hantaviral antigens. IgM screening was performed using a commercially available ji‐capture ELISA based upon two recombinant Hantaviral nucleocapsid antigens. A seropositivity of 2.1% (15/727) was recorded, with an almost exclusive reaction against a rat‐derived R22VP30 strain of the Seoul serotype. Sole reliance upon non‐rat‐derived classic screening antigens Hantaan (HTN 76–118) and Puumala (CG 18–20) would have resulted in the detection of only 2/15 (13.3%) of cases in IgG IFA, and 8/14 (57.1%) of the cases in IgM ELISA.The findings indicate that for the first time in Europe, and more specifically in N. Ireland, non‐laboratory outbreaks of HFRS may be caused by wild rats acting as a reservoir for a Seoul‐like Hantavirus.Conventional Hantavirus serology using Hantaan and Puumala as screening antigens does not appear sufficient for the detection of such cases of HFRS. Hence, we propose the addition of a rat derived Hantaviral antigen to the antigen screening panel as a means of improving the specificity of the detection methods. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Removal/neutralization of hepatitis A virus during manufacture of high purity, solvent/detergent factor VIII concentrate
Authors: Lemon Stanley M. , Murphy Paula C. , Smith Andrew , Zou Jinsheng , Hammon John , Robinson Stephen , Horowitz Bernard 
Published: March 2007

AbstractRecent reports have suggested an increased risk of type A viral hepatitis in hemophilic patients treated with high purity factor VIII concentrates prepared using ion exchange chromatography coupled with solvent/detergent treatment for in‐activation of viruses. To determine the capacity for removal or inactivation of hepatitis A virus during the factor VIM manufacturing process, human plasma and various factor VIM production intermediates were spiked with cell culture‐propagated virus and subjected to scaled down conditions mimicking the manufacture of solvent/ detergent factor VIII. The combination of antibody‐mediated neutralization, cryoprecipitation, anion exchange chromatography, and lyophilization in the absence of sucrose resulted in a minimal reduction of 5.5 to 8.55 Iog10 in the infectivity of hepatitis A virus. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A sensitive PCR method for detecting HCV RNA in plasma pools, blood products, and single donations
Authors: Saldanha J. , Minor P. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractAlthough current manufacturing processes appear to efficiently inactivate hepatitis C virus (HCV), it is possible that contaminated blood products may result from failure of some stage during manufacture or from virus overload of plasma pools used for preparation of products. While antibody screening probably removes the majority of HCV positive donations, some donations which are antibody‐negative but HCV positive may be included in pools. The HCV RNA content of plasma pools from paid and voluntary donors was investigated by poly‐merase chain reaction (PCR). A sensitive PCR method using a single pair of primers from the 5′ non‐coding region of the HCV genome and a “hot‐start” was established and shown to be as sensitive as the more conventional nested PCR (which uses two pairs of primers). The majority of pools from paid donors (prescreening) were HCV RNA positive, while all pools from voluntary donors were both antibody and RNA negative. Intravenous immunoglobulins prepared from contaminated pools were RNA negative despite having high antibody levels, indicating satisfactory clearance of the virus during manufacture. The virus load of the pools was at least a thousand‐fold lower than that of single donations, possibly as a result of treatment during the production of the pools or the presence of factors in pools which reduce the sensitivity of some part of the PCR assay. The HCV content of a plasma donation was determined as 3.6 × 106 genomes/ml by an end point dilution method. Thus a simple and sensitive PCR assay was established for detecting HCV RNA in plasma pools and blood products. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Community prevalence of hepatitis C viraemia: A polymerase chain reaction study
Authors: Sallie Richard , King Ruth , Silva Eduardo , Tibbs Christopher , Johnson Phillip , Williams Roger 
Published: March 2007

AbstractIn order to estimate the prevalence of HCV carriage in an inner city health district, we undertook a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based survey of sera collected from 1,002 patients attending general practitioners for reasons unrelated to liver disease. The series comprised 305 sample selected sera patients sample from sera 995 patients previously screened by C100 antigen‐based anti‐HCV tests. Overall, 7 patients were positive for HCV RNA. Four cases had anti‐C100 antibodies to HCV, 2 were strictly negative but had high‐normal/borderline optical densities by ELISA assay, while one was completely anti‐HCV negative. All but one had normal liver function tests. Only 3/7 PCR positive cases had any serum marker for hepatitis B (HBV) exposure (2 HBsAg positive, 1 IgM anti‐HBc positive). The minimum point prevalence of HCV carriage in this community is 0.7%, approximating the HBsAg carriage in the same population (1%). HCV carriage in this inner city population is considerably higher than would be predicted by blood donor surveys. A positive anti‐HCV antibody (anti‐C100) test is poorly predictive (∼10%) of HCV RNA carriage in a general practice based population in which measurement of “surrogate” (HBV related) HCV markers would have detected only 3/7 cases of presumed chronic HCV carriage. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
High prevalence of HHV‐6 DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy individuals detected by nested‐PCR
Authors: Cuende José I. , Ruiz Juan , Civeira Maria P. , Prieto Jesús 
Published: March 2007

AbstractThe aim of the study was the evaluation of human herpesvirus‐6 (HHV‐6) infection rate and semiquantification of viremia in healthy people. Healthy blood donors were studied. Human herpesvirus‐6 IgG and IgM antibody titers were measured by indirect immunofluorescence assay. Human herpesvirus‐6 DNA amplification (nested‐PCR) was performed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and in serum. Seventeen of 50 (34 percent) individuals were positive for IgG anti‐HHV‐6 and the titers ranged from 1:40 to 1:160. None of 30 individuals was positive for IgM anti‐HHV‐6, suggesting no recent infection nor reactivation. Human herpesvirus‐6 DNA was detected by nested‐PCR amplification in peripheral blood mononuclear cells but not in sera. When 1 μg DNA was amplified, HHV‐6 DNA was detected in 8 of 20 individual (40%), but in 18 of 20 (90%) when 5 μg DNA were amplified. It is concluded that HHV‐6 is present in a high proportion of the healthy population but in minimal amounts, and although it can be detected in 1.4 × 105 PBMC, 7 × 105 cells are necessary to detect most cases. No reactivation was observed in healthy people. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Clinical significance of hepatitis C antibodies in blood donors
Authors: Kolho E. , Färkkilä M. , Mäkinen J. , Krusius T. , Naukkarinen R. , Ikkala E. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractThe clinical significance of hepatitis C antibodies (anti‐HCV) in a healthy population was studied by liver function tests and liver biopsies. The patient population consisted of 195 (96.1%) of the 203 blood donors found to be either anti‐HCV positive or indeterminate by a recombinant im‐munoblot assay (RIBA) during the first year of anti‐HCV screening of 307,606 donors in Finland using a first generation enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in 67 donors reacting positively and in 128 reacting indeterminately by a second generation RIBA (RIBA‐4) were monitored to evaluate the prevalence of liver damage. Serum N‐terminal type III procollagen (PIIINP) concentrations were measured in all donors who fulfilled our criterion for possible hepatitis C (ALT values over two times the normal upper limit on two occasions or over five times the normal upper limit on one occasion) and in 23 randomly selected RIBA‐4 positive donors without ALT abnormalities (control group). Two (1.6%) of the RIBA‐4 indeterminate donors had ALT values compatible with possible hepatitis C (negative by polymerase chain reaction) whereas there were 25 (37.3%) such individuals among the RIBA‐4 positive donors (P< 0.0005). Twenty (80%) of the latter 25 RIBA‐4 positive donors with possible hepatitis C consented to liver biopsy. Of these 20 donors, 11 (55.0%) were found to have chronic persistent hepatitis, four (20.0%) mild, three (15.0%) moderate, and two (10.0%) severe chronic active hepatitis. Serum PIIINP concentrations did not correlate with histological score even though the mean concentration was significantly higher in RIBA‐4 positive donors with possible hepatitis C than in the control group (P<0.01). We conclude that HCV antibodies found coincidentally in Finnish donors seldom indicates severe liver disease. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Prevalence of hepatitis‐C virus RNA in serum and throat washings of children with chronic hepatitis
Authors: Puchhammer‐Stöckl Elisabeth , Mor Wolfgang , Kundi Michael , Heinz Franz‐Xaver , Hofmann Hanns , Kunz Christian 
Published: March 2007

AbstractSerum samples from 46 children with chronic and probably transfusion acquired hepatitis were tested for the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA by a “nested” polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, to judge a possible risk of HCV transmission from these patients. In 73% of the samples, viral RNA was detected, indicating a high virus prevalence in this patient group. High titers of HCV‐RNA were observed in some sera as shown by the detection of virus in some samples even at dilutions of 10−3. Comparison of simultaneously obtained PCR results and ALT values revealed no significant correlation between virus presence in serum and higher ALT levels. It was, however, shown that unusually high ALT values may reflect a high titer of viral RNA in serum. To investigate the prevalence of viral RNA in saliva, which could be a vehicle of virus transmission, 35 throat washing samples from the HCV‐infected children were screened by PCR. Using three different sample preparation procedures, 20% of the throat washings were found to be positive for HCV‐RNA. This indicates a prevalence of virus in this fluid lower than that reported previously. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Prevalence of human T‐Cell lymphotropie virus infections in Germany
Authors: Schätzl Hermann , Schwarzfischer Gerhard , Rose Dietlinde , Gathof Birgit , Weise Wilhelm , Deinhardt Friedrich , Von Der Helm Klaus 
Published: March 2007

AbstractThe extent of human T‐cell lymphotropic retorvirus HTLV‐I and HTLV‐II infections in the general population in central Europe has not been investigated fully. Two hundred forty‐eight thousand blood donors from southern Germany were examined serologically for antibodies to the human lymphotropic retroviruses HTLV‐I and HTLV‐II: 0.021% were confirmed postive and 0.056% were “indeterminate”. A limited number of seropositives and “indeterminate” samples were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR): the seropositives were confirmed as positive and 43% of the “indeterminate” samples were PCR‐positive. The range of 0.021% HTLV‐positives in 248,000 donors, i.e. about two in 10,000 individuals, mirrors closely the published data for the United States. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hepatitis B virus subtypes and hepatitis C virus genotypes in patients with chronic liver disease or on maintenance hemodialysis in Indonesia
Authors: Hadiwandowo Soeliadi , Tsuda Fumio , Okamoto Hiroaki , Tokita Hajime , Wang Yu , Tanaka Takeshi , Miyakawa Yuzo , Mayumi Makoto 
Published: March 2007

AbstractHepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA were surveyed in patients in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and their subtypes and genotypes were determined by serological methods and polymerase chain reaction with type‐specific primers, respectively. Of 149 patients with chronic liver disease including 24with chronic hepatitis, 86 with liver cirrhosis, and 39 with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, HBsAg was detected in 40 (27%) and HCV RNA in 48 (32%); one patient was positive both for HBsAg and HCV RNA. Thus, the cause of chronic liver disease was not identified in 62 (42%) patients. Of 58 patients on maintenance hemodialysis, four (7%) were positive for HBsAg and 44 (76%) for HCV RNA. Subtype adw was found in 34 (74%) of 46 HBsAg samples and adr in five (11%); compound subtypes, such as adyw and adyr were detected in the remaining seven (15%). Among HCV RNA samples from 48 patients with chronic liver disease, 23 (48%) were of genotype II, 17 (35%) of genotype III and one (2%) of genotype V, in a distribution strikingly different from that of 44 samples from patients on maintenance hemodialysis, 39 (89%) of which were of genotype I and only one (2%) of genotype II. Genotypes were not classifiable in seven (15%) patients with liver disease and four (9%) patients on hemodialysis despite high HCV RNA titers in them all. These results indicate that different HCV genotypes prevail in patients with distinct diseases, as well as unclassifiable HCV genotypes in Indonesia. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Vitreous fluid sampling and viral genome detection for the diagnosis of viral retinitis in patients with AIDS
Authors: Mitchell Suzanne M. , Fox Julie D. , Tedder Richard S. , Gazzard Brian G. , Lightman Susan 
Published: March 2007

AbstractCytomegalovirus (CMV) causes severe necrotizing retinitis in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other herpesviruses have been implicated in the acute retinal necrosis syndrome (ARN), seen in both the immunocompetent and the immunosuppressed. At present the diagnosis of viral retinitis relies solely on clinical appearances. In order to assess whether the detection of herpesvirus‐specific DNA in cell‐free vitreous biopsy samples could be useful in the early diagnosis of viral retinitis, vitreous fluid samples were taken from 100 patients. Fifty patients had AIDS as defined by the Centers for Disease Control, (MMWR 36 (suppl 1S):1S–15S, 1987) and retinal disease. The remainder were not known to be HIV infected and had no clinical evidence of retinal infection. Each sample was tested for the presence of CMV, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV‐1), varicella‐zoster virus (VZV), Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV), and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6), by amplification of viral DNA using a sensitive and specific nested poly‐merase chain reaction (PCR). The presence of detectable CMV or VZV DNA was clearly associated with clinical disease whereas the presence of HSV‐1, EBV, and HHV6 sequences were not. Clinical discrimination between CMV‐ and VZV‐associated retinitis was greatly enhanced when the PCR results were taken into consideration. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Antibody response to adenovirus Elb‐derived synthetic peptides and serum levels of p53 in patients with gastrointestinal and other malignant lymphomas
Authors: Lähdeaho M.‐L. , Lehtinen T. , Aine R. , Hakala T. , Lehtinen M. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractSerum levels of p53 and antipeptide antibody levels to adenovirus type 12 (Ad12) E1b protein were measured in a case‐control study of 62 newly diagnosed patients with malignant lym‐phoma. While patients with gastrointestinal lym‐phoma did not differ from their matched controls, p53 positive lymphoma patients had significantly (P < 0.04) increased antipeptide IgG antibody levels to the Ad12 E1b. Concomitant detection of serum p53 and antipeptide antibodies to Ad 12 E1b was associated with an increased risk (OR = 17.0, 95% confidence limits 1.5, 58.5) of malignant lymphoma suggesting synergism between expression of Ad12 Elb and accumulation of p53 in patients with malignant lymphoma. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hepatitis C transmission in a hemodialysis unit: Molecular evidence for spread of virus among patients not sharing equipment
Authors: Allander Tobias , Medin Charlotte , Jacobson Stefan H. , Grillner Lena , Persson Mats A. A. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractThree cases of simultaneous seroconversion to hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a hemodialysis unit initiated the investigation of the viral strains of 14 seropositive patients in the unit by nucleotide sequencing. The results showed that five patients had been infected with the same viral strain, and indicated that two other patients were sharing a second strain. Transmission was not related to blood transfusions and not associated with the dialysis machines, but occurred between patients treated on the same shift. The number of cases was higher than expected from the serological data. Thus, spread of virus may occur at high frequencies in environments where parenteral routes are made accessible, in spite of rigorous preventive measures. This may raise concern that non‐transfusion associated spread of HCV may be present and unnoticed in several hospital settings. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.