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Biomedical subjects

G W Fernald

Publications and source records attributed to G W Fernald.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1976

Effect of passive antibody on parainfluenza virus type 3 pneumonia in hamsters.

Both parainfluenza virus type 3 and respiratory syncytial virus may produce life-threatening pneumonia or bronchiolitis in infants less than 6 months old. Almost all infants in this age group possess passively acquired maternal antibodies to both viruses. It has been suggested that maternal antibodies may actually participate in the pathogenesis of these diseases in early infancy. This investigation examined the effect of moderate levels of passive antibody on the development of pneumonia in hamsters infected intranasally with parainfluenza virus type 3. The pneumonitis produced in this model was not enhanced by the presence of moderate levels of serum antibody to this virus. Furthermore, reinfection after an initial "sensitizing" infection under the cover of passive antibody did not result in a more severe pneumonitis. These studies do not support either of the two hypotheses that have been advanced to explain the pathogenesis of infections with respiratory syncytial virus in early infancy.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Acute respiratory disease of university students with special reference to the etiologic role of Herpesvirus hominis.

Infections with Herpesvirus hominis type 1 were associated with 11.5% of acute respiratory illnesses of university students who were admitted to the student infirmary over a 6-year period. Over three-quarters of these infections were detected in students with pharyngitis or tonsillitis; 42% had ulcerated lesions on tonsils or posterior pharynx but only 11% had lesions in the anterior portion of the mouth or lips. Almost all of the H. hominis infections were accompanied by significant rises in neutralizing antibodies and few students had detectable antibodies in the initial serum collected during the acute phase of illness. Special studies revealed herpes-specific IgM antibodies in the early convalescent sera of some of these patients. The data demonstrate that 80% of the infections detected were primary infections with H. hominis. Only 30% of university students possessed neutralizing antibodies to H. hominis and about 10% of those without antibodies acquired antibodies each year. These data suggest that the majority of persons from middle income families reach young adulthood without acquiring infections of H. hominis and the spread of the virus requires close and intimate contact.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The longitudinal approach to the pathogenesis of respiratory disease.

Longitudinal observations were made of a well-defined population of children at a day care center in an investigation of the pathogenesis of infections due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. A single RSV infection induced a modest but significant degree of resistance to further RSV infection in these children. Age and immunity seemed to interact to decrease the intensity of the clinical expression of illness associated with RSV infection. Infants and young children had asymptomatic or mild infections with M. pneumoniae; some of these children also became reinfected. A rise in titer of antibody to M. pneumoniae was demonstrated frequently in children of all ages. However, stimulation of peripheral lymphocytes by M. pneumoniae antigen was demonstrated infrequently in children younger than four years of age but frequently in children older than four years of age. It is speculated that the clinical expression of disease due to M. pneumoniae is modulated by immune responses; this hypothesis would explain the greater severity of illness in older children and young adults than in younger children. It is also speculated that RSV vaccines will not prevent RSV infection but may be expected to lessen the severity of clinical disease that follows such infections. M. pneumoniae vaccines probably should not be used in children because these vaccines may enhance immunity and increase the sevrity of illness.

Child↗