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Biomedical subjects

O Meurman

Publications and source records attributed to O Meurman.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

The prevalence of antibodies against viruses causing Kumlinge and Pogosta diseases on the islands of Iniö on the southwest coast of Finland.

The prevalence of antibodies against viruses causing Kumlinge (tick-borne encephalitis) and Pogosta disease in the population of Iniö, a small island community in southwest Finland was measured. Antibodies against Kumlinge disease were found in 28% of the population, and increased from 10% in the 0-19 year age group to 42% in the 60-79 year age group. The prevalence varied markedly between different islands, being highest in the outer, bushy islands. Antibodies against Pogosta disease were detected in 2.7%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Acute otitis media and respiratory virus infections.

We studied the association of acute otitis media with different respiratory virus infections in a pediatric department on the basis of epidemics between 1980 and 1985. Altogether 4524 cases of acute otitis media were diagnosed. The diagnosis was confirmed by tympanocentesis in 3332 ears. Respiratory virus infection was diagnosed during the same period in 989 patients by detecting viral antigen in nasopharyngeal mucus. There was a significant correlation between acute otitis media and respiratory virus epidemics, especially respiratory syncytial virus epidemics. There was no significant correlation between outbreaks of other respiratory viruses and acute otitis media. Acute otitis media was diagnosed in 57% of respiratory syncytial virus, 35% of influenza A virus, 33% of parainfluenza type 3 virus, 30% of adenovirus, 28% of parainfluenza type 1 virus, 18% of influenza B virus and 10% of parainfluenza type 2 virus infections. These observations show a clear association of respiratory virus infections with acute otitis media. In this study on hospitalized children Haemophilus influenzae strains were the most common bacteriologic pathogens in middle ear fluid, occurring in 19% of cases. Streptococcus pneumoniae was present in 16% and Branhamella catarrhalis in 7% of cases. There was no association between specific viruses and bacteria observed in this study.

Female↗
PubMed1988

Fluctuation of virus antibody levels in healthy adults.

In order to determine fluctuations in virus antibody levels, blood specimens were collected weekly from 13 healthy adults during a nine-week period and tested by enzyme immunoassay for IgG antibodies against measles, rubella and cytomegalovirus. In 29 of 35 subject-titer pairs the difference between the highest and lowest titers observed was less than twofold, in five cases it was between twofold and threefold, and in one case it was 3.3-fold. These differences were higher than those caused by intraassay variation alone. The results indicate that some physiological fluctuations seem to occur in the antibody levels of healthy individuals. Although the fluctuations are usually small, care should be taken if titer increases less than fourfold are used as a criterion to indicate recent infection.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Adenovirus infection in families.

Eighteen families were followed up for four to six weeks after one member of each family was diagnosed as having an adenovirus infection. In 17 of 18 index cases the diagnosis was based on the rapid detection of adenovirus hexon antigen in the nasopharyngeal mucus specimens and in one case (the only adult index case) on isolation of the virus. All index cases had high temperatures associated most commonly with tonsillitis, acute otitis media, gastroenteritis, or febrile convulsions. In 14 of the 16 families with symptomatic contacts the index case was the first symptomatic case, or one of the first symptomatic cases, in that family. Fifteen (94%) of the siblings and 20 (56%) of the parents had signs and symptoms of acute infection during the follow up period. In 10 (63%) and eight (20%) of these cases, respectively, adenovirus was confirmed. The mean (SD) incubation period of confirmed adenovirus infections was 10 (3) days. The observations show that adenovirus infection spreads actively to other siblings in the family. Rapid diagnosis permits parents to be informed prospectively about the expected spread and clinical picture of the illness in the family.

Adenoviridae Infections↗
PubMed1987

Influenza A and B virus IgG and IgM serology by enzyme immunoassays.

Enzyme immunoassays (EIA) for IgG and IgM antibodies against influenza A and B virus are described. One hundred and seven subjects with a clinical diagnosis of acute respiratory infection (influenza, bronchitis or pneumonia) were selected for this study during two epidemics of influenza A which occurred in Finland in 1983 and 1985. Paired sera and nasopharyngeal secretions were obtained from all subjects. The sera were tested for influenza A and B antibodies by IgG and IgM EIAs and by complement fixation tests. The nasopharyngeal secretions were tested by an indirect EIA for influenza A and B antigens. The IgG EIA was found to be better than complement fixation for the diagnosis of influenza A infections: only 22% of the significant increases detected by this test were also positive by complement fixation. The additional contribution of the IgM EIA to the number of positives was minimal. It was also found that testing a single 1/1000 dilution of serum for influenza A and 1/100 dilution for influenza B in the IgG EIA gave as many positives as the conventional method of testing several dilutions.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Fever in respiratory virus infections.

The case records of 258 children with adenovirus; influenza A or B virus; parainfluenza 1, 2, or 3 virus; or respiratory syncytial virus infections were studied retrospectively with special attention to the degree and duration of fever. A temperature of 39.0 degrees C or higher was most frequently recorded in adenovirus, influenza A, and influenza B virus infections (in 68%, 84%, and 65%, respectively). The mean highest degree of fever in respiratory virus infections (39.2 degrees C +/- 0.6 degrees C) during hospitalization did not differ from that in defined serious bacterial infections, ie, meningitis, epiglottitis, sepsis, and urinary tract infections (39.3 degrees C +/- 0.7 degrees C). The mean duration of fever varied from 2.5 days (parainfluenza 2) to 5.2 days (influenza B). Of all children with respiratory virus infections, 37% had fever lasting five days or longer. The data show that high and prolonged fever is frequently associated with respiratory virus infections in hospitalized children and that it does not differ significantly from fever in severe bacterial infections.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗
PubMed1986

C-reactive protein in the differentiation of adenoviral, Epstein-Barr viral and streptococcal tonsillitis in children.

Sixty-two children with febrile exudative tonsillitis were studied to explore whether quantitative measurements of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) are useful in differentiating viral from streptococcal tonsillitis. There were 23 cases of adenoviral tonsillitis, 21 of EB viral tonsillitis and 18 of streptococcal tonsillitis. Measurements of CRP, WBC counts and erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR) were not useful in distinguishing viral from streptococcal tonsillitis. Seventy-four percent of patients with adenoviral tonsillitis were under the age of 3 years and 71% of the patients with Epstein-Barr (EB) viral tonsillitis were under the age of 6 years whereas 72% of the patients with streptococcal tonsillitis were over the age of 6 years. Age was clearly the most important factor in distinguishing between viral and bacterial tonsillitis in children.

Adenoviridae Infections↗
PubMed1986

C reactive protein in the evaluation of febrile illness.

We studied prospectively 154 febrile children to determine the diagnostic value of the quantitative serum C reactive protein concentrations (CRP). Children with acute otitis media, acute tonsillitis, or treated with antibiotics during the two previous weeks and infants less than 2 months of age were excluded. Ninety seven children were from private paediatric practice and 57 were patients who had been admitted to hospital. The comparison group consisted of 75 children with confirmed bacterial infections whose CRP values were recorded retrospectively. In the study group 35 (23%) children had a confirmed viral infection, 92 (59%) had a probable viral infection as judged from the clinical picture and outcome of the illness, and 27 (18%) had a bacterial or probable bacterial infection. When the duration of the disease was more than 12 hours and the CRP value less than 20 mg/l, all children had a confirmed or probable viral infection. Nine children (one from the study group and eight from the comparison group) were found to have a septic infection and a CRP value of 20 mg/l or less. In all these cases, however, the duration of the symptoms was less than 12 hours. In addition CRP less than or equal to 20 mg/l was found in five (14%) children with urinary tract infection in the comparison group. CRP values of 20-40 mg/l were recorded in children with both viral and bacterial infections. A CRP value greater than or equal to 40 mg/l detected 79% of bacterial infections with 90% specificity. Our data show that determination of serum CRP concentrations is a valuable tool in evaluating children who have been ill for more than 12 hours.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Kinetics of specific IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM antibody responses in rubella.

Rubella-specific IgD and IgE antibodies were determined with a solid-phase enzyme immunoassay using enzyme-labeled heavy-chain specific anti-immuno-globulins, and the antibody responses in rubella infection were compared to IgM, IgA, and IgG antibodies. IgD and IgE antibodies increased rapidly after the onset of infection, remained at a high level for at least 2 months, and declined slightly by 6 months. In comparison, the IgM antibodies decreased more rapidly, whereas the IgG antibodies persisted longer at a steady level. By 6 months the mean levels of the different antibodies had declined from their maximal mean levels as follows: IgM, 52%; IgA, 42%; IgE, 35%; IgD, 29%; and IgG, 8%. Thus IgD and IgE antibodies, in spite of their known short half lives, persisted longer than IgM and IgA antibodies, which limits their diagnostic value. The IgA antibody responses were found too variable to substitute for IgM antibody determination in diagnosis of a recent rubella virus infection from a single serum specimen. Comparison of maternal and cord blood sera indicated that, in addition to IgG antibodies, rubella-specific IgD antibodies were found to cross the placenta.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Serum antibodies against oral Streptococcus mutans in young children in relation to dental caries and maternal close-contacts.

Thirty-six children aged 2.6-4.9 years were studied with respect to dental caries, Streptococcus mutans counts in dental plaque, and the estimates of total amount and avidity of serum IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies against Strep. mutans 10449, serotype c. A significant positive correlation (r = 0.49, p less than 0.01) was found between the number of Strep. mutans and caries-index in children. Two children with dental caries had no oral Strep. mutans. In median tests, high antibody titre and avidity of serum IgG antibodies against Strep. mutans were associated (p less than 0.05) with low counts of Strep. mutans. No such relationship was found with IgM or IgA antibodies. Children who had had frequent maternal close-contacts in their first year had significantly more (p less than 0.05) IgG antibodies against Strep. mutans than children with rare close-contacts.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1985

Direct enzyme immunoassay for detection of specific IgG antibody to rubella virus by use of labelled antigen.

A new solid phase enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for detection of rubella-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody was developed. The test uses polystyrene microtiter strips coated with rabbit anti-human IgG immunoglobulins as the solid phase and an enzyme-labelled semipurified rubella antigen as indicator. The direct EIA was compared with hemagglutination inhibition (HI), single radial hemolysis (SRH), radioimmunoassay (RIA) and time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TR-FIA) using 52 serum specimens from patients with remote rubella infection. The overall agreement of direct EIA with HI was 96.1%, with SRH and RIA 98.1% and with TR-FIA 100%. The linear regression coefficient varied from 0.77 to 0.91, the best being obtained with direct EIA and SRH. The direct EIA was also suitable for diagnosis of acute infections, as a significant increase in antibody levels was detected in all paired specimens tested from patients with acute rubella infection. The sensitivity and were comparable to those of the assays employed. An advantage of the present assay is that the same method and same labelled antigen can be used to test for different classes of antibody using simply a solid phase with capture antibodies of different chain specificity.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Identification of respiratory virus antigens in middle ear fluids of children with acute otitis media.

Antigens of respiratory viruses were tested by immunoassay of the middle ear fluids and nasopharyngeal secretions of 137 children with acute otitis media. The following were found: (1) an epidemic of infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) caused a significant increase in the occurrence of acute otitis media. (2) Fifteen percent of the children had RSV antigens in middle ear fluid, and in 7% RSV was the sole pathogen found. Adenovirus antigens were found in the middle ear fluid of 3% of the children. (3) Bacteriologic findings in otitis media related and unrelated to viral (RSV) infection were similar. These findings indicate that some episodes of otitis media are associated with viral infection and that the disease may be solely due to viral infection. Thus, at least during an epidemic of respiratory virus infections, treatment failures--e.g., fever and earache unresponsive to antimicrobial therapy--may be due to a viral etiology of acute otitis media.

Adenoviridae Infections↗
PubMed1985

Polyclonal activation of B cells during rubella infection.

Intensive spontaneous production of IgG by peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro is detected at the onset of rash in patients with rubella virus infection. The IgG synthesized consists not only of antibodies against rubella virus specific antigens but also of antibodies to unrelated viruses.

Acute Disease↗