Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Eldridge.
Antisera were prepared from strains of Campylobacter jejuni/coli isolated from patients in six outbreaks of enteritis. Bactericidal antibodies, and agglutinating antibodies to heat-labile and heat-stable antigens, were demonstrated. These reactions were used to type a number of strains isolated from patients in each outbreak, and to distinguish 'epidemic' from 'non-epidemic' strains.
The antibody response to Campylobacter jejuni/coli infection was investigated in 59 patients involved in two outbreaks of milk-borne infection and in sporadic infections in the community. Agglutinins and complement-fixing (CF) antibodies were detected in nearly all these patients. Agglutinins were present in 25% of normal sera at low titres (not greater than 1/160) but CF antibody titres of 1/4 or 1/8 were present in only 2.0%. The agglutination reactions in convalescent sera were best developed with the homologous or an antigenically similar strain whereas the CF test, with sonicated organisms as antigen, was less strain-specific and was more suitable as a routine test. Antibody was present seven to 10 days after the onset of symptoms.
The nasopharyngeal acquisition of meningococci was followed in healthy military recruits during their primary training. The production of antibodies to meningococcal serotype protein antigens and serotype lipopolysaccharide antigens accompanied the carrier state. Bactericidal antibody to protein serotype 2 was generated in response to the carriage of meningococci of low virulence that carried this antigen.
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Helicobacter pylori infection is common in northern Nigeria, but the age of acquisition is unknown. In a prospective study, immunoglobulin G antibodies to H. pylori were measured in 143 children under the age of 20 years. Ninety-one percent of 43 randomly chosen subjects over 10 years had antibodies to H. pylori. A further 100 children under 10 years presenting to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital were also tested. Sixty-nine percent had antibodies, including 58% of those aged under 1 year. H. pylori infection is acquired at an early age, and in this study was not associated with any other pathology. This study was carried out in an area where peptic ulceration and gastric cancer are uncommon. The early acquisition of H. pylori infection may be important in relation to its apparent lack of pathogenicity.