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Biomedical subjects

A Campbell-Benzie

Publications and source records attributed to A Campbell-Benzie.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1985

Screening tests for antibodies to cytomegalovirus: an evaluation of five commercial products.

Four hundred and ninety two samples of serum from blood donors were screened for the presence of antibodies specific to cytomegalovirus using radioimmunoassay, a modified complement fixation test, and five commercially available tests: the Cetus CMV IHA, Abbott CMV total AB EIA, Cytomegalisa Stat EIA, Enzygnost EIA, and Virenz G-CMV EIA. A wide variation in results was found, with only 53.5% of the sera giving total concordance by all methods. Rates of seropositivity in the different tests ranged from 34.9% to 59.3%, with sensitivities ranging from 75.2% to 99.1% compared with the radioimmunoassay. Of 211 sera which gave positive results with four or more of the tests, none was negative by the radioimmunoassay and Abbott EIA, three were negative in Cetus IHA and Enzygnost EIA, and 11 were negative in the modified complement fixation test. Virenz G and Cytomegalisa Stat EIAs, however, gave 40 (19%) and 49 (23.2%), respectively, as negative. The results confirmed the reliability of the radioimmunoassay for the detection of the antibody status to CMV, but this test is too elaborate for a screening procedure. The Abbott EIA and Cetus IHA were found to be the most suitable for this purpose in spite of high false positive rates.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1983

Rubella screening.

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Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1983

A comparison of indirect immunofluorescence and radioimmunoassay for detecting antibody to varicella-zoster virus.

Immunofluorescence (IF) and radioimmunoassay (RIA) were found to be more sensitive methods than complement fixation (CF) for detecting antibody to varicella-zoster (V-Z) virus. RIA yielded titres about 30 times greater than those obtained by IF, but for screening purposes RIA was only about six times more sensitive since the minimum serum dilutions that could be tested were 1/100 and 1/16 respectively. When 539 sera from subjects of different ages were screened for V-Z antibody, IF and RIA gave concordant results with 527 specimens (98%). When 19 patients were tested who had not previously had varicella but were experiencing primary infection with herpes simplex (HS) virus, crossreacting antibodies to V-Z antigens were detected in six patients by IF but in only two of these by RIA. IF and RIA are preferable to CF as tests for immune status because of their greater sensitivity, but weak positive reactions caused by presumptive low titres of homologous antibody or by higher titres of heterologous antibody can occur in one or both tests. Such reactions could cause difficulty in assessing the need for vaccine or for specific immune globulin, and in interpreting the response to vaccination.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1981

The development and evaluation of a solid-phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) procedure for the determination of susceptibility to varicella.

The development of a sensitive solid-phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) procedure for the detection of specific antibodies against varicella-zoster (VZV) is described. The test proved to be about 200 times more sensitive than complement fixation (CF) and far more efficient at detecting low levels of antibody in the sera of individuals with past history of varicella. It is suggested that this RIA-VZV test would be suitable for distinguishing between individuals who are either immune or susceptible to varicella, which could be useful in a variety of clinical situations but particularly in current and future evaluations of varicella vaccines.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1980

A prospective study of primary cytomegalovirus infection in pregnant women.

During a four year study, sera were obtained from 5575 women attending for antenatal care and 3188 (57.2 per cent) were shown to possess complement fixing antibodies to cytomegalovirus (CMV). A total of 1608 seronegative women were followed to term and 14 (0.87 per cent) primary CMV infections occurred in either the second or third trimester. Transplacental spread of CMV occurred in 3 out of 12 (25 per cent) of the 14 babies born to infected mothers. All 14 babies were apparently normal at birth but short term clinical follow-up has already revealed that one child has impaired hearing whilst another is microcephalic. The women were also monitored serologically throughout pregnancy for evidence of rubella infections. Only 12 infections were detected and 7 of these occurred during the large rubella epidemic of 1978. Of the 10 pregnancies which were allowed to proceed to term, transplacental spread of rubella virus occurred in 1 out of 7 (14 per cent). During this study period, CMV infections occurred as frequently as did rubella infections. We therefore conclude that, apart from those years when extensive epidemics occur, many more pregnant women are infected with CMV than with rubella virus.

Cytomegalovirus Infections↗