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Biomedical subjects

H M Foy

Publications and source records attributed to H M Foy.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Microbial causes of neonatal conjunctivitis.

We assessed the microbial causes of neonatal conjunctivitis by comparing 55 infants with purulent conjunctivitis and 60 healthy control infants. A mean of greater than 5 leukocytes per 1000X microscopic field was seen in Gram-stained smears obtained from the more inflamed eye in 77% of 30 untreated patients but none of 57 controls. Pathogens isolated more often from untreated patients than from controls included Haemophilus spp. (17% vs 2%, P = 0.01), Staphylococcus aureus (17% vs 2%, P = 0.01), Chlamydia trachomatis (14% vs 0%, P = 0.01), enterococci (8% vs 0%, P = 0.05), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (11% vs 2%, P = 0.06). One or more of these pathogens were isolated from the conjunctivae in 58% of patients and 5% of controls (P less than 0.001). Bacterial morphology seen on smear correlated with the pathogens cultured. Isolation of Haemophilus spp. or S. pneumoniae was associated with dacryostenosis. We conclude that several microbial pathogens are implicated in neonatal conjunctivitis. These organisms have differing susceptibilities to antimicrobial agents, so culture and sensitivity testing are required as a guide to therapy.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1983

Influenza surveillance in the Pacific Northwest 1976-1980.

Between June 1976 and June 1980 active year-round surveillance for influenza was carried out in Seattle in order to establish an early warning system. This report compares yield by different community groups and age. Waves of influenza virus infection appearing in three successive springs were followed in each instance by epidemics with the same subtype virus(es) in the following winter. These included two co-circulating A/H3N2 variants (A/Victoria/75 and A/Texas/77) in spring 1977 and winter 1977-1978, A/H1N1 (A/USSR) in spring 1978 and H1N1 (A/Brazil) winter 1978-1979, and type B influenza in spring 1979 and winter 1979-1980. Despite intensive surveillance through the summer and fall, the first isolate was not obtained until early December each year. Young adults (18-30) were as good sources for influenza viruses as children (less than 18).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Isolation of respiratory syncytial and influenza viruses from the sputum of patients hospitalized with pneumonia.

Routinely collected sputum specimens from 100 adults hospitalized with pneumonia were frozen at -70 C until inoculation into Madin-Darby canine kidney, fetal tonsil, and esophageal epithelial cells. Six influenza A (H3N2) viruses, two respiratory syncytial viruses, three rhinoviruses, and nine herpes simplex viruses were recovered. Four patients with influenza virus and one with respiratory syncytial virus isolated had nosocomial pneumonia. Viral isolation from sputum specimens may aid the diagnosis of pneumonia of unclear etiology and merits further evaluation as a diagnostic tool and as an adjunct to influenza surveillance.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Naturally acquired immunity to pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

The immunity to Mycoplasma pneumoniae was studied by periodic collection of sera up to 15 years after infection. Sera were tested for antilipid antibodies by complement fixation. Antibody levels remained elevated for two to nine years after pneumonia but usually fell sharply after the second year in persons with milder symptoms. Infection rates were at least six times higher in comparison groups than in previous pneumonia patients. Schoolchildren with serologic evidence of infection, but without pneumonia, during the 1966-1967 epidemic were not protected during the next epidemic (1974). Children with evidence of infection during the first two years of life were at no higher risk of clinical pneumonia (immunopathological response) at school age than those without previous known exposure. The current study suggests that naturally acquired infection induces partial immunity which lasts longer after pneumonia than after mild infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Increased frequency of serum antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis in infertility due to distal tubal disease.

186 infertile women underwent standard infertility investigations (including hysterosalpingography and, in 87 women, laparoscopy) and tests for the presence of antibody to Chlamydia trachomatis. 73% of the women with distal occlusion of the fallopian tubes and 21% with peritubal adhesions alone had antibodies to C. trachomatis, but none of those with normal tubes did (p less than 0.001 and less than 0.005, respectively). No other infertility factors were associated with an increased frequency of antibodies to C. trachomatis. Since the presence or absence of antibodies to C. trachomatis was as discriminatory in the detection of tubal disease in infertile women as was the hysterosalpingogram, the serological test for C. trachomatis should become part of a routine infertility investigation.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1982

Isolation of mycoplasmas and bacteria from the blood of postpartum women.

Mycoplasmas and/or bacteria were recovered from the blood cultures of 26 (20.8%) of 125 febrile postpartum women. Genital mycoplasmas were recovered from 16 (12.8%) of the 125 febrile women and from none of 60 afebrile postpartum women (p less than 0.005). The presence of mycoplasmaemia was associated with a young age, primigravidity, and nulliparity. The isolation of organisms from the blood was also associated with fever during labor, internal monitor use, and a cesarean delivery.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Influenzavirus infections in Seattle families, 1975-1979. I. Study design, methods and the occurrence of infections by time and age.

Intensive surveillance of Seattle, Washington, families with school-age children for influenzavirus infections during 1975-1979 encompassed 639 family- and 2732 person-seasons of observation, covering four influenzavirus epidemic seasons: type B (1975-1979), type A/H3N2 (1975-1976 and 1977-1978) and type A/H1N1 (1978-1979). Late spring "herald" waves of infection occurred in 1977 (A/H3N2), 1978 (A/H1N1) and 1979 (type B), the latter presaging an epidemic in 1979-1980. Out-of-season infections, recognized by serology only, included type B and A/H3N2 viruses in each summer and A/H1N1 virus in 1978. In epidemic seasons, infection rates were highest in children aged 5-9 years (A/H3N2) or in teenagers (A/H1N1 and type B). A/H1N1 virus caused the sharpest epidemic, with 31% of the population (but only 2% of adults) infected and 72% of households invaded in 1978-1979. These compare with infection rates of 17-24% overall and 6-13% of adults and the invasion of 38-53% of households observed in the type B and two A/H3N2 epidemics. Extended observation (largely serologic) of a cohort of 1965-1969 Virus Watch families for up to 14 years (including one three-year gap) indicated overall infection rates of 13.7 and 16.4 per 100 person-years with types B and A/H3N2 viruses, respectively, and rates of first and second reinfections of about 3 and 1 per 100 person-years, respectively, with each virus. Close surveillance in 1975-1979 revealed second family episodes of infection with each prevalent virus, 37 with A/H3N2, 15 with type B and 13 with A/H1N1 virus. Risk of infection in these episodes was related more to current hemagglutination-inhibiting titers than to experience (infected or not) in the initial episodes, with 67-100% reinfection when titers were low. Among younger (less than 20 years old) members, related illness was as frequent with reinfection as with initial infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

A/USSR and B/Hong Kong vaccine. Field experiences during an A/Brazil and an influenza B epidemic.

Young adults vaccinated in late spring of 1978 with one dose of vaccine containing either 7 microgram or 20 microgram of A/USSR (H1N1) hemagglutinin, followed by a dose of trivalent (A/USSR, A/Texas, B/Hong Kong) vaccine, were observed through an epidemic of A/Brazil influenza in the winter of 1978-1979, and of influenza B in 1979-1980. Influenza infection was diagnosed by virus isolation or serological titer rises between the spring seasons of 1978, 1979, and 1980. During the A/Brazil epidemic, rates of reported influenza-like illness and serologically confirmed H1N1 influenza infections were similar for all vaccine groups and two control groups. Naturally acquired antibody, but not vaccine-induced hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies (HAI), appeared protective. During the influenza B epidemic, a lower rate of serologically confirmed infections was observed in the 1978 vaccine cohort than in one control group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Influenza B virus vaccines in children and adults: adverse reactions, immune response, and observations in the field.

A double-blind trial of influenza virus vaccines was initiated in the fall of 1976. One dose of 500 chick cell-agglutinating units of subvirion influenza B vaccine gave negligible adverse reactions in schoolchildren and young adults, whereas whole-virus vaccine caused systemic reactions. Subvirion vaccines induced a complement-fixing antibody response, particularly in children, that returned to near original levels over a two-year period. Levels of hemagglutination-inhibiting (HAI) antibodies induced by the vaccine remained elevated for at least 2.5 years in the absence of natural challenge. When a major epidemic of influenza B occurred in the winter of 1979-1980, the youngest children (originally six to nine years of age) had the highest infection rate (53%); in this group protection was estimated at 44% +/- 17% by serologic evidence of infection. Little vaccine efficacy was demonstrated in older age groups at three years after vaccination, despite the persistence of HAI antibodies induced by the vaccine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Antibody response to influenza A/New Jersey and A/Victoria virus vaccines in 1976 and subsequent antibody levels after influenza A epidemics, 1977-1979.

Antibody levels before and after vaccination were studied among schoolchildren and young adults given commercial A/New Jersey/76 (HswN1), A/Victoria/75 (H3N2), and B/Hong Kong/72 vaccines in the fall of 1976. Children responded better to a single dose of the A/New Jersey subvirion vaccine than had previously been observed, particularly to a new subvirion vaccine. Hemagglutination-inhibiting antibody titers decreased during the first six months after vaccination but appeared stable thereafter. Persistence seemed to depend on the antigenic mass in the first dose, since persons given one or two doses of the most potent whole-virus vaccine had by far the highest levels of antibody to A/New Jersey virus after 2 1/2 years, higher than for those given two doses of any of the other vaccines. Natural infection with A/USSR (H1N1) influenza virus boostered the titers of antibody to A/New Jersey virus, particularly in children. Persons given a bivalent subvirion vaccine had the best response to A/Victoria antigen. Subvirion vaccines induced complement-fixing antibodies in half of the children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Relationship between surface antigens of two variants of influenza A (H3N2) virus, as revealed by hemagglutination inhibition, kinetic neutralization, and neuraminidase inhibition.

Rabbit antisera were raised against plaque-purified influenza virus strains of A/Victoria/75 and A/Texas/77 isolated from Seattle influenza patients. The antigenic specificity of hemagglutinins was compared by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and kinetic neutralization tests. Anti-A/Victoria/75 had equally high HI titers and neutralization rate constants (kappa values) for A/Victoria/75 and A/Texas/77. In contrast, anti-A/Texas/77 had a high HI titer and kappa value to A/Texas/77 and a low HI titer and kappa value to A/Victoria/75. Similar results were obtained with antisera to recombinants with hemagglutinin specific for A/Victoria/3/75 or A/Texas/1/77 and with irrelevant neuraminidase. Seven wild-type isolates, three each of A/Texas and A/Victoria, and one strain characterized as a bridging strain were tested by HI and kinetic neutralization. Characterization as A/Texas or A/Victoria was confirmed by the results. No significant difference in neuraminidase specific for A/Victoria/75 or A/Texas/77 was hown when recombinants with an irrelevant hemagglutinin were compared by the neuraminidase inhibition test. These results suggest that A/Victoria/75 strains are "senior" to A/Texas/77 strains. The epidemiological implications of this observation are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Legionnaires' disease in a prepaid medical-care group in Seattle 1963--75.

The community incidence of legionnaires' disease (L.D.) was estimated by a retrospective study of stored paired sera from 500 patients treated for pneumonia in Seattle in 1963--75. The patients were all members of a prepaid medical-care group; 84% were treated as outpatients. Only 5 (1%) had a fourfold rise in antibody titre to the L.D. antigen. Seroconversion to influenza A virus also occurred in 3 of the 5 cases. The course of illness in 4 of the 5 patients with confirmed infection was milder than that previously reported with legionnaires' disease. In addition, 1 child had a fourfold fall in titre, and 23 patients had titres of greater than or equal to 256 without significant change in titre. Only 8 of the 23 had their first serum collected later than 2 weeks after onset of illness, which suggests that the majority had acquired their antibodies before their attack of pneumonia. Prevalence of antibody in the 500 patients was not affected by age, sex, or year in which illness occurred. The incidence of legionnaires' disease based on 5 patients with rises in titre was estimated to be 0.4--2.8/10 000 persons/year.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Rates of pneumonia during influenza epidemics in Seattle, 1964 to 1975.

Influenza A epidemics were associated with a doubling to tripling of pneumonia rates among adult members of a prepaid medical care group studied between 1963 and 1975. Rates of influenza A associated with pneumonia increased with age. Influenza B epidemics did not have a similar effect. Overall pneumonia rates were highest in children younger than 5 years, but in this age group, other respiratory viruses dominated as causative agents. Influenza A and B epidemics were not always synchronized with those reported for the United States, and rates of influenza A infection varied between urban and suburban areas in sequential epidemics. In 1974, a year practically free from influenza A, a prolonged Mycoplasma pneumoniae epidemic kept rates of pneumonia high, especially during the summer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Long-term epidemiology of infections with Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae was monitored in a large prepaid medical-care group in Seattle, Washington, between 1963 and 1975. The disease was diagnosed by isolation of M. pneumoniae and/or significant rises in titer of complement-fixing (antilipid) antibody in paired sera. Infection was endemic without significant seasonal fluctuations. Two epidemics occurred: the first peaked in January 1967, the second late in the summer of 1974. Total rates of pneumonia infection in children increased during M. pneumoniae epidemics, but epidemics of infection with respiratory syncytial virus had a greater effect. Age-specific attack rates for M. pneumoniae pneumonia among children aged five to nine years (about six per 1,000) were about twice the rates for younger children and four times those for adults. Serologic study of healthy schoolchildren showed annual rates of infection that paralleled but greatly exceeded rates of recognized M. pneumoniae pneumonia. Infection rates varied from 2% in endemic years to 35% in epidemic periods. A higher proportion of infections among children aged five to nine years than among adolescents aged 15-19 years resulted in pneumonia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Influenza surveillance by age and target group.

Surveillance for influenza virus infections began in mid-1976, continued through three small influenza A outbreaks (mixed A/Victoria and A/Texas outbreaks in Spring, 1977, and Winter, 1977-1978 and an A/USSR outbreak peaking in March, 1978). Nasopharyngeal specimens were collected for virus isolation from febrile respiratory disease patients coming from four sources: 1) the Sunday walk-in clinic of the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound; 2) 200 families under continuous surveillance for respiratory viral infections; 3) patients referred by interested community physicians or self-referred persons in vaccine evaluation studies; and 4) students presenting at the University of Washington health center. Influenza virus isolation rates were as high in children as adults and peaked earlier in adults than in children in all three epidemics. Although referred patients and university students yielded the highest isolation rate, nearly 30%, all four community sources were important in detecting an impending epidemic.

Adolescent↗