Prevalence of antibodies to bovine viral diarrhoea virus and/or border disease virus in domestic ruminants

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Detection of antibodies to bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) and characterization of genomes of BVDV from Brazil

An ELISA for the detection of antibodies to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) was developed based on antigens derived from a genotype I BVDV strain isolated in Switzerland. Using monoclonal antibodies we showed that this antigen contained the conserved non-structural protein NS3 whereas it essentially lacked the more strain-specific E2 surface glycoprotein. This ELISA has a sensitivity of 97.5% and a specificity of 99.2% as compared to the serum neutralization test (SNT). Preliminary experiments showed that this ELISA reliably detects antibodies to BVDV strains circulating in Brazil. Serum samples obtained from 430 adult cattle on 19 farms of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and one farm from Corrientes (Argentina) were tested for antibodies by means of this ELISA. We found antibodies in 56% +/- 15.1% of the cattle sera tested, which indicates that, in Brazil, the prevalence of infection with BVDV is similar to that found in Europe and the USA. Our sequence analysis of two BVDV isolates showed that BVDV of both genotypes I and II circulate in Brazil.     

Elevation of antibodies to cytomegalovirus and other herpes viruses in pulmonary fibrosis

The aim of this study was to determine whether latent viral infection is associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), an interstitial lung disease whose aetiology remains to be elucidated. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunoglobulin G (IgG) and complement fixation (CF), Epstein-Barr (EB) viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgG, herpes simplex virus (HSV) IgG, adenovirus CF, and parainfluenza 3 virus haemagglutinin inhibition (HI) titres were measured in the serum from patients with pulmonary diseases. The study included five subject groups: 35 normal controls (aged (mean +/- SD) 38 +/- 17 yrs); 43 IPF (63 +/- 10 yrs), seven collagen vascular disease-related interstitial pneumonitis (CVD-IP) (62 +/- 12 yrs); 22 sarcoidosis (36 +/- 14 yrs); and 17 emphysema (66 +/- 11 yrs). Levels of CMV IgG in IPF (87.6 +/- 51.7) and CVD-IP (101.2 +/- 69.9) were significantly elevated compared to those in the control (30.9 +/- 24.1), sarcoidosis (34.4 +/- 38.3) and emphysema groups (40.3 +/- 24.6), whereas CMV immunoglobulin M (IgM) was generally below the limit of detection. Similarly, CMV CF titres in IPF and CVD-IP were elevated compared to those in other diseases. EB VCA IgG titres in IPF, CVD-IP and emphysema and HSV IgG in IPF were also elevated. In contrast, adenovirus CF and parainfluenza 3 HI titres demonstrated no significant difference among all of the groups investigated. Increases in cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin G and complement fixation titres with negative cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin M suggest that latent cytomegalovirus infection may be more prominent in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or collagen vascular disease-related interstitial pneumonitis. Together with the elevation of Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen and herpes simplex virus immunoglobulin G in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and/or collagen vascular disease-related interstitial pneumonitis, it is rational to assume that these viruses may be implicated in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Further study is necessary to investigate the relationship between latent viral infection and pulmonary fibrosis.     

Probability of detecting antibodies to bovine herpesvirus 1 in bulk milk after the introduction of a positive animal on to a negative farm

The purpose of this study was to assess the probability that the introduction of one or more bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1)-seropositive animals would result in the bulk milk of a clean herd becoming BHV-1-positive. Probability calculations (stochastic and deterministic) were based on the distribution of the log(titre) of 828 positive animals and the daily milk production of the herds and of the individual cows. They showed that the probability in average sized herds of 45 dairy cows is only between 10 and 25 per cent and that even in small herds of 25 cows the introduction of a positive animal would go undetected in the majority of cases. It is concluded that if the bulk milk has become BHV-1-positive it is most likely that the infection has spread.     

Experimental infection with Babesia divergens in cattle persistently infected with bovine virus diarrhoea virus

Nine Norwegian Red cattle, aged 7-14 months, persistently infected with bovine virus diarrhoea virus (BVDV) were inoculated with a Swedish strain of Babesia divergens. Six persistently infected cattle of the same age and breed were kept as controls. Blood and serum samples were collected regularly during the observation period. Rectal temperatures were recorded every morning for 25 days post infection, and the animals were examined clinically on a daily basis. Sera were examined for antibodies to B. divergens by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). Eight of the infected animals developed fever of 2-5 days duration. Babesia divergens organisms appeared in the erythrocytes of all infected animals on the day after inoculation. The parasitaemia lasted for 4-11 days. One animal had a transient haemoglobinuria. Compared with the control group, there was a 20% decrease in the haematocrit. There was a transient lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia during the period of fever. There were no differences in mean numbers of neutrophils between the two persistently infected groups. Compared with cattle free of BVDV, the persistently infected cattle had consistently lower total leucocyte count that was mainly due to decreased mean numbers of neutrophils and monocytes. All infected animals develop antibodies > or = 1:1280 between day 7 and 10 post infection. The magnitude of the antibody response was considerably lower than that of BVDV-free animals inoculated with the same strain and dosage of B.divergens.     

Epidemiology of bovine virus diarrhoea in cattle on communal alpine pastures in Switzerland

The goal of this study was to determine the influence of communal pasturing on the spread of bovine virus diarrhoea (BVD). The investigation involved 990 Swiss Braunvieh cattle from 149 different owners on seven communal pastures in the Swiss Alps. Prior to pasturing, blood samples were collected from all animals for examination for BVD antigen and antibodies. Serological examinations were also performed during and after pasturing to determine possible increases in seroprevalence and to determine whether seroprevalence was different on pastures with and without persistently infected cattle. At the start of pasturing, nine (0.9%) animals were persistently viraemic. On three alpine pastures, no persistently viraemic animals were detected. The prevalence of persistently infected cattle on the remaining four pastures varied from 0.3 to 3.9%. Of the 990 animals tested at the start of pasturing, 632 (63.3%) were seropositive. Seroprevalence differed among pastures and varied from 21.8 to 85.9%. During the summer, seroprevalence increased on all pastures surveyed, and at the end of the pasture season, 778 (80.1%) of the 971 cattle that were examined twice were seropositive. The incidence of seroconversion was significantly higher on pastures with persistently infected cattle compared with those without; it ranged from 32.7 to 100.0% in the former and from 6.0 to 22.2 in the latter. The results of this study suggest that communal alpine pasturing does play a role in the spread of BVD. The extent of this role depends on the presence of persistently infected animals.     

Prevalence of Listeria species in raw milk from farm bulk tanks in Nagano prefecture

The redox chemistry of Pyrococcus furiosus rubredoxin and ferredoxin has been studied as a function of temperature in direct voltammetry and in EPR monitored bulk titrations. The Ems of both proteins, measured with direct voltammetry, have a normal (linear) temperature dependence and show no pH dependence. EPR monitoring is not a reliable method to determine the temperature dependence of the Em: upon rapid freezing the proteins take their conformation corresponding to the freezing point of the solution.     

Acute pulmonary lesions in sheep experimentally infected with bovine viral diarrhoea virus

Recombinant antibody-cytokine fusion proteins are immunocytokines that achieve high cytokine concentrations in the tumor microenvironment and thereby effectively stimulate cellular immune responses against malignancies. The activation and expansion of immune effector cells, such as CD8+ T lymphocytes, by interleukin-2 immunocytokines resulted in the eradication of established pulmonary and hepatic metastases of murine melanoma and colorectal carcinoma in syngeneic mouse models. These immunocytokines were equally effective in eliminating established bone marrow and liver metastases of murine neuroblastoma by activating natural killer cells. The effective eradication of metastases by immunocytokines resulted in significant prolongation in life span of mice over that of controls receiving equivalent mixtures of antibody and interleukin-2, which failed to reduce the growth of disseminated metastases. Proof of concept was established, indicating that immunocytokine-induced activation and expansion of immune effector cells in the tumor microenvironment can effectively eradicate established tumor metastases. This promising new approach to cancer immunotherapy may lead to clinical applications that improve treatment of cancer patients with minimal residual disease in an adjuvant setting.     

Resistance to ciprofloxacin in pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae in England and Wales in 1996

In 1996, 6% of Escherichia coli from extraintestinal infections were resistant to ciprofloxacin with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) > or = 2 mg/l (high level resistance). Low level resistance (MIC 0.125-1 mg/l) was also identified in 7% of Salmonella typhi, 4% of S paratyphi A, and 4% of non-typhoidal salmonellas. However, resistance to ciprofloxacin was rarely identified in shigellas. For E coli, physicians should be aware that treatment failures may occur when patients with invasive illness are treated with ciprofloxacin before the results of laboratory sensitivity tests are available. For salmonellas an increasing number of treatment failures have been recorded for patients infected with strains with low level resistance. Because of the increasing incidence of Enterobacteriaceae with low level resistance to ciprofloxacin, it is recommended that for this group of organisms a breakpoint of 0.125 mg/l should be included in laboratory sensitivity tests.     

Entanglement in fishing gear and other causes of death in cetaceans stranded on the coasts of England and Wales

Between August 1990 and September 1995 the carcases of 422 cetaceans of 12 species that had died around the coasts of England and Wales were examined. There were 234 harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), 138 common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), and 50 individuals of 10 other species of dolphins and whales. The cause of death was diagnosed in the harbour porpoises and common dolphins was entanglement in fishing gear (bycatch). Of the cases in which the cause of death was established, 66 (38 per cent) of 176 harbour porpoises, 86 (80 percent) of 108 common dolphins, and six (19 per cent) of 31 individuals of other species had been bycaught. Neonatal starvation, pneumonia and generalised infections accounted for a further 31 per cent of the diagnosed causes of death in harbour porpoises. The proportion of stranded common dolphins that had been bycaught was consistently high except during 1995, but the proportion of stranded harbour porpoises which had been bycaught increased in each successive year.     

Monoclonal antibody for the demonstration by ELISA of antibodies to protein p24 of enzootic bovine leukosis virus in individual and pooled blood serum and milk samples

A sensitive and specific ELISA for the demonstration of antibodies to the protein p24 of enzootic bovine leukosis virus (EBVL) using a 'capture' monoclonal antibody to this protein (MAb p24) was developed. The method is sensitive enough to detect the international reference serum E4/10 in pooled blood serum samples collected from up to 50 cows, or, if a 10-fold concentrate of milk whey is tested, in samples of bulk milk collected from up to 400 cows. The application of MAb p24 has considerably increased not only the sensitivity, but also the specificity of ELISA. Moreover it is possible to differentiate reliably between positive and 'false positive' reagents by testing a suspicious sample in a pair of wells of which one is coated with MAb p24 alone and the other with the complex MAb p24 + EBLV antigen and the subsequent calculation of 'specific absorbance'. This method, showing the highest sensitivity of detection of antibodies to EBLV p24 described so far, can become an effective tool on the sanitation of infected herds as well as in checks of the EBL-free status. A diagnostic kit suitable for commercial manufacture has been devised.     

Meningococcal disease in England and Wales: 1995

The number of laboratory confirmed cases of meningococcal infection in England and Wales rose in 1995 for the first time since 1990. Culture confirmed cases rose to 1459, an increase of 29% over the 1994 total, due largely to increased disease activity in the last quarter of 1995. Cases diagnosed by non-culture methods totalled 431, giving a total of 1890 laboratory confirmed cases. Notifications reported to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys also increased to a similar extent. Northern regions generally had higher rates of disease activity and greater increases in rates. Meningococcal disease caused by serogroup C strains accounted for the main increase in culture confirmed cases and made up 32% of the total in 1995. Disease caused by C2a strains showed a particularly large increase. A change in the age distribution was noted with a greater proportion of patients in older age groups. Among group B isolates, B4 P1.4 strains continued to be identified most commonly.     

PHLS mycobacteriology reference services in England and Wales

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most important cause of infectious disease in the world, with eight million new cases and three million deaths each year. The increasing incidence of TB in the developed and the developing world, increasing drug resistance, and the occurrence of nosocomial outbreaks of drug sensitive as well as drug resistant TB has led the PHLS to establish TB as a priority area. This article reviews the enhanced reference services for mycobacteriology provided by the PHLS in England and Wales. These include microscopy and culture on solid and liquid media, rapid culture systems, identification of mycobacteria using macroscopic, microscopic, growth, and biochemical characteristics, and molecular DNA analysis. The Mycobacterium Reference Unit (MRU) provides rapid molecular DNA amplification techniques to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis in specimens. All four PHLS Regional Centres test isolates for drug susceptibility. This work is quality controlled by MRU, which is one of the World Health Organisation's reference centres for global surveillance on drug resistance in tuberculosis. National data on drug resistance are collated through 'Mycobnet', a surveillance scheme run through the collaboration of PHLS and other UK reference centres and the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre.     

Influenza surveillance in England and Wales: October 1996 to June 1997

This report summarises information collected for the surveillance of influenza in England and Wales during the winter of 1996/97. Consultations for 'influenza and influenza-like illness' with sentinel general practitioners in England and Wales began to increase towards the end of November and peaked at the start of January. In England, consultations for 'aggregated respiratory disease' (ARD) began to increase a little earlier, perhaps as a result of increased respiratory syncytial virus activity, but also peaked in early January. Influenza A (H3N2) viruses were first detected in early October, but rarely until November, and activity peaked in early January, coinciding with the peak in consultations for flu-like illness. A few influenza B viruses were detected in late November and early December, and substantial activity was recorded in mid-January. Approximately equal numbers of influenza A(H3N2) and B viruses were identified over the winter as a whole, and circulating strains were antigenically similar to those included in the vaccine for 1996/97. Although influenza activity was 'moderate' in terms of consultations and laboratory confirmed infections, a large peak in death registrations occurred at the same time as influenza A(H3N2) virus activity peaked. The number of deaths during the winter was similar to that seen in 1989/90, when the last severe influenza epidemic occurred in England and Wales.     

Influenza surveillance in England and Wales: October 1995 to June 1996

This report summarises information collected for the surveillance of influenza virus infection in England and Wales from October 1995 to June 1996 (weeks 40/95 to 25/96). Total respiratory disease' activity, as reported by the Birmingham Research Unit of the Royal College of General Practitioners, rose to peaks in weeks 48/95, 51/95, and 01/96. The first peak coincided with a peak in "influenza and flu-like illness'. The subsequent peaks were accounted for by an increase in reports of acute bronchitis, including bronchiolitis, and may have been associated with the annual rise in infections with respiratory syncytial virus. Influenza A virus was responsible for most infections, with moderate activity occurring in the early part of the winter, peaking in December (week 48/95). Influenza A subtype H3N2 predominated until week 07/96, after which subtype H1N1 accounted for most infections. Influenza activity was first seen in central and northern England, followed by the south of England, Wales, and Scotland. Circulating influenza viruses were antigenically similar to the components of the 1995/96 vaccine. International surveillance during 1995/96 has led to a different H3N2 component being included in the influenza vaccine recommended for 1996/97.     

Patterns of mortality among Bangladeshis in England and Wales

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the patterns of mortality among Bangladeshis living in England and Wales. METHODS: An analysis of national mortality data, classified by country of birth, for the latest period (1988-1992), using the method of indirect standardization for deriving standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) with the age- and sex-specific rates for England and Wales as the standard (= 100). The SMRs were derived for Bangladeshi-born men and women aged 20-69 years for major disease entities. RESULTS: The mortality among Bangladeshi men was significantly higher (SMR 118 and 95% CI 111-126) than the levels prevalent in England and Wales. In contrast, the mortality among Bangladeshi women was significantly lower (SMR 71 and 95% CI 61-82). The cancer mortality overall was lower than expected in both sexes, with the exception of cancer of the liver and gall bladder. The mortality from breast cancer (SMR 16 and 95% CI 6-34) and cervical cancer (SMR 51 and 95% CI 14-131) was lower than expected. Bangladeshi men experienced high mortality from diabetes (SMR 685 and 95% CI 529-874), coronary heart disease (SMR 148 and 95% CI 134-163) and cerebrovascular disease (SMR 267 and 95% CI 222-319); they also experienced excess deaths from cirrhosis of the liver (SMR 254 and 95% CI 175-357). CONCLUSIONS: The findings establish significant variations in the recent health experiences of Bangladeshi men living in England and Wales, posing a major challenge for purchasers of care. If the Health of the Nation strategy is to ensure that equity in health and health care is to apply to all those living in this country, the Bangladeshi population needs special targeting.     

An experimental study of a concurrent primary infection with bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) and bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) in calves

Experimental infections with bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) and bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) were performed to study the effect of concurrent BRSV and BVDV infections. Twelve seronegative calves, in 3 groups, were inoculated on a single occasion with pure BRSV (group A), BRSV and noncytopathogenic BVDV (group B) or mock infected (group C). Mild respiratory symptoms were recorded 4 to 5 days post inoculation (dpi) in group A and group B calves. One calf in group A was severely affected and required medical treatment. In group B, fever (40.7-41.4 degrees C) was prominent 7 to 8 dpi. Only calves in group B were BVDV positive in purified lymphocytes at 2 to 14 dpi and showed increased serum interferon levels, with a peak at 4 dpi, indicating BVDV to be responsible for inducing the rise. BRSV was detected in lung lavage fluids up to 7 dpi for group A calves, compared to 11 dpi for group B and calves in this group also seroconverted later displaying lower BRSV titers. The time lag before an antibody response and the titers recorded in group B, indicated that the duration of BVDV infection in lymphocytes negatively influenced the capacity to mount a BRSV antibody response.