The anti-HBc IgM response in the acute and convalescent phases of acute hepatitis.
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Acute Disease↗
Biomedical subjects
J V Parry
Publications and source records attributed to J V Parry.
Diagnosis of recent hepatitis A infection: a comparison of two methods for detecting specific IgM.
Radioimmunoassay (RIA) tests for anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) IgM were carried out on 728 sera: 283 were tested by both a method using an anti-mu serum bound to a solid phase and a method involving preliminary separation of igM by sucrose density gradient (SDG) centrifugation, 354 by the anti-mu method alone and two by the SDG method alone. Similar proportions of sera were found to be positive by each method (42.5%, 41.7%), but equivocal results were commoner by the SDG method (4.7% compared with 1.5%). There were 21 (5.5%) discrepant results from the sera tested by both methods, 20 of which could have been due to the higher sensitivity of the anti-mu method. The SDG method generally gave unequivocal results on sera collected within six weeks of the onset of jaundice. Separation of the IgM fraction by re-orientation centrifugation was quick, but otherwise offered no special advantage over separation on a swing-out rotor. The use of 2 mercaptoethanol (2 ME) reduction to assess the purity of the IgM fraction increased confidence in the specificity of the test. It led, however, to the exclusion of 16 reactive sera (4.2%), all of which were found to be positive in the anti-mu test. The anti-mu method gave better discrimination between positive and negative sera than the SDG method and detected IgM both earlier and later in infection. The results of tests designed to check the specificity of the anti-mu procedure were satisfactory. As it is potentially cheaper and easier to perform, the anti-mu method seems, in all respects, to be superior to the SDG method.
Centrifugation, Density Gradient↗
Hepatitis A infection: guidelines for development of satisfactory assays for laboratory diagnosis.
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Adolescent↗
Role of viruses in febrile convulsions.
A disseminated viral illness was demonstrated by isolating a virus from the CSF, blood or urine in 27% of 73 children who were admitted to hospital after a first febrile convulsion. However, a viral aetiology could be implicated for 86% of the children after combining results of tissue culture, electron microscopy, mouse inoculation, complement fixation tests, and interferon assay. Parallel bacterial cultures showed a possible pathogen in 29% of children, but in only 4% was the pathogen isolated from the CSF, blood, or urine. No correlation was found between the nature of the pathogen (or evidence of its dissemination) and the severity of the convulsion, degree of fever, CSF protein, CSF white cells, or the WBC. The results suggest that a febrile convulsion could be a response to invasion of the blood stream or central nervous system by a micro-organism which is usually a virus. Invasion may be of such brief duration that successful isolation of the virus from the blood, CSF, or urine in not more commonly achieved.
Child↗
A year's experience of the rotavirus syndrome and its association with respiratory illness.
In a hospital study rotavirus was identified in 51% of 152 children with diarrhoea. These patients showed a clinical pattern that was distinct from patients in whom the diarrhoea was associated with bacteria, other viruses, or no pathogens. A respiratory illness was described in 66% of rotavirus patients and usually preceded the gastrointestinal symptoms. Vomiting lasted between one and 3 days and was curtailed by substituting the normal diet with clear fluids. Watery diarrhoes continued for 4 or 5 days, even when rehydration was by the intravenous rather than the oral route. Prolonged diarrhoea was rare. Most children infected with rotavirus were under 2 years of age, but dehydration was most severe in infants aged between 12 and 18 months. A clinician can thus recognise the rotavirus syndrome and expect spontaneous recovery if adequate rehydration is maintained for a critical few days.
Adolescent↗
Undescribed toxin in pseudomembranous colitis.
A girl aged 12 developed pseudomembranous colitis after a short course of oral penicillin. She had no history of adverse reaction to penicillin before or after the illness. No pathogenic bacteria, mycoplasmas, or viruses were found in her faeces, but they did contain a toxin. Toxin was also found in four of five other patients with pseudomembranous colitis but not in six specimens obtained from patients with diarrhoea caused by other disorders. Further studies may show that pseudomembranous colitis is caused by a bacterial toxin.
Bacterial Toxins↗
Salivary and urinary diagnosis of human immunodeficiency viruses 1 and 2 infection in Côte d'Ivoire, using two assays.
This investigation, done at the Institut Pasteur de Cote d'Ivoire 'blind' of the previous serological findings, suggests that GACELISA, a commercial immunoglobulin G capture enzyme immunoassay for anti-human immunodeficiency virus antibody, can be successfully applied to unprocessed saliva and urine specimens. Its accuracy may be as high as that of conventional enzyme assays on serum tested under similar conditions. However, the role of GACPAT, a similar assay, as a cheap alternative screening test for urine remains in doubt unless its non-specificity can be controlled.
HIV Antibodies↗
Human immunodeficiency virus: GACPAT and GACELISA as diagnostic tests for antibodies in urine.
Testing for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in urine may be of use in epidemiological studies. We collected 336 paired urine and serum samples from subjects in Karonga District, northern Malawi: 86 (25.6%) of the serum samples were HIV positive. Serum results were compared with those from immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibody-capture particle adherence tests (GACPAT) and IgG antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (GACELISA) on the corresponding urine samples performed independently in 2 laboratories. The minimum observed relative sensitivity and specificity of GACPAT were 96.5% and 98.8% respectively; the specificity could be raised by using a protocol involving re-testing of reactive samples to determine end-point titre. For GACELISA, the observed relative sensitivity and specificity were 98.8% and 99.2% respectively. Such assays may be useful either as a primary screen in populations where urine samples are considerably easier to obtain than serum samples, or as an alternative test for individuals unwilling to provide a serum sample.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay↗
Surveillance for the impact in the UK of HIV epidemics in South Asia.
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether, because of the extensive recent spread of HIV infection in South Asia, South Asians (those people who classify themselves as Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan in origin) resident in the UK were at increased risk of HIV infection and to review current surveillance systems for detecting any such increase. DESIGN: Analysis of: ethnic grouping and probable country of infection recorded on voluntary confidential reports of AIDS cases and newly diagnosed HIV infections; blood donation testing data; reports of imported gonorrhoea infections; country of birth data from the unlinked anonymous (UA) survey of Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) clinic attenders; district of residence data from the UA survey of pregnant women; ethnic grouping of prevalent diagnosed HIV infections. RESULTS: Few reported AIDS cases or HIV infections were found in people of South Asian ethnic origin and few reported HIV or gonorrhoea infections were associated with exposure in South Asia. Data derived from the UA programme suggested as yet no increase in HIV prevalence in either STD clinic attenders born in South Asia or in pregnant women resident in districts containing substantial numbers of ethnic South Asians. CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence that South Asians resident in the UK are currently at greater risk of HIV infection than people of white ethnicity or, therefore, that south Asian heterosexuals are a group deserving priority in HIV prevention. However, as rapid spread of HIV infection is being recorded in the Indian subcontinent, continuous monitoring is necessary. This will be facilitated by improved collection of ethnic group information in all surveillance activities.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗