Significant Rise In Antibody Titer Research Articles

Association between a recently isolated virus and an epidemic of upper respiratory disease in a day nursery.

A virological investigation of an epidemic of upper respiratory disease in a day nursery is presented. 9 strains of virus were isolated from the children affected, from the staff of the day-nursery, and from the members of the children's families. A total of 36 persons were investigated. Two of the strains were recognized as adenovirus type 1 and 5. The other 7, of which 1 was isolated from the throat and 6 from the faeces, were shown to be identical with the recently isolated U-virus. It was found that 5 cases affected 0–4 days before initial sampling showed significant rise in antibody titre in paired sera, and that 10 cases affected 8–16 days before initial sampling showed significant decrease in antibody titre. It cannot be established for certain whether or not symptoms were caused by the U-virus, although this seems suggestive.

CONCENTRATION OF PENICILLIN IN THE SERUM FOLLOWING INTRAMUSCULAR ADMINISTRATION OF BENZATHINE PENICILLIN G TO CHILDREN WITH INACTIVE RHEUMATIC FEVER

Ninety-six children between the ages of 4 and 20 years with inactive rheumatic fever received 1,200,000 units of benzathine penicillin G every 28 days by intramuscular injection and were studied from the standpoint of effective and consistent concentrations of penicillin in the serum. The concentrations of penicillin in the serum could be determined with certainty in 81% of the specimens; concentrations ranged from 0.002 to 0.125 unit/ml. The mean concentration of penicillin reached in the serum of females was three times higher than in males. The concentration of penicillin in the serum of females increased with age and weight from the tenth to the seventeenth years. No such increase was observed in the sera of males in relation to age and weight. The differences in concentration of penicillin reached in the sera of the two sexes from 12 through 17 years of age were statistically significant (p less than 0.01). No significant difference in concentration of penicillin in the serum was found in comparing obese and thin girls of 10 through 15 years of age. The explanation for the differences between the two sexes is not apparent. During the period of the study, 491 swabs from the nose and throat yielded only one positive culture for beta hemolytic streptococcus of group A; this organism could not be typed and was not associated with an increase in the titer of antistreptolysin O. One other patient had a significant rise in antibody titer, but there was no antecedent positive culture for streptococcus. There were no recurrences of rheumatic fever.

The Formation of Circulating Antibody in the Splenec Tomized Human Being Following Intravenous Injection of Heterologous Erythrocytes

Summary Sixteen control and fourteen splenectomized patients were given a single intravenous injection of 1.0 ml of a 2.0 per cent suspension of washed sheep erythrocytes. All controls responded with a significant rise in antibody titer between nine to fourteen days after the injection. Thirteen out of fourteen splenectomized patients failed to respond with a significant rise in antibody titer during this same time interval. Splenectomy had been performed eight days to forty months prior to immunization. The possible significance of these findings is discussed in terms of three syndromes: acquired hemolytic anemia, idiopathic thrombocytopenia, and erythroblastosis foetalis.

Routine laboratory diagnosis of virus and rickettsial diseases; results of an 18 month study.

In the past, laboratory technics for the diagnosis of the virus and rickettsial infections have been too complicated for the routine hospital laboratory, and these procedures were largely limited to research laboratories with highly trained personnel. Recently serologic tests for many of these diseases have been developed to the point that hospital laboratories equipped to carry out complement fixation tests can perform many of these tests routinely and be of great diagnostic aid to the clinician. Also commercial diagnostic antigens and antiserums are now available for many of the virus and rickettsial diseases. The serologic procedures which are chiefly applicable to routine work include the complement fixation and hemagglutination inhibition tests. These tests depend on the demonstration of a significant rise in antibody titer in serums obtained during the acute and convalescent phases of illness. This paper is a general discussion of the present status of the laboratory diagnosis of

The Relationship of Mengo Encephalomyelitis, Encephalomyocarditis, Columbia-SK and M.M. Viruses

Much confusion has been caused by the use of the names “Columbia-SK and M. M. murine strains of poliomyelitis.” Since it has been shown that these viruses bear no antigenic relationship to the strains of poliomyelitis virus employed in this study, and since they are closely related serologically to Mengo and EMC viruses, it is suggested that the words “of poliomyelitis” be dropped from the names. Since EMC virus is indistinguishable from Mengo virus and, as we have pointed out, myocarditis is not a specific lesion characteristic only for this group, the name encephalomyocarditis is also not satisfactory. A common name is indicated for the four viruses of this group.