Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to V Player.
Centralisation of viral diagnostic services offers the potential for cost saving in laboratories, but incurs costs for transporting specimens. In a trial of 326 paired specimens, isolation rates of viruses sent by overnight post and a more expensive same-day courier service were similar.
One thousand three hundred and twenty adults at risk of occupational exposure to hepatitis B were immunized using genetically engineered surface antigen and their antibody response (anti-HBs IU/l) assessed. Sex was known for all subjects and age for 1120 (range from 17-71 years). Seven hundred and sixty-four subjects were immunized in the local Department of Occupational Health, the remainder mainly by general practitioners. Analysis of 'good responders' (anti-HBs greater than 100 IU/l) according to age and sex showed that increasing age and male sex had independent adverse effects on the likelihood of developing a satisfactory level of antibody to HBsAg. Furthermore even those most likely to respond well (young women), had a 1/5 to 1/6 failure rate to achieve greater than 100 IU/l anti-HBs. Of 63 persons who received a fourth dose of vaccine, 26 developed anti-HBs titres greater than 100 IU/l when tested after 6 months. Subjects who had a low level of anti-HBs following primary immunization were more likely to develop greater than 100 IU/l anti-HBs following a booster dose than were non-responders (less than 10 IU/l).
A monoclonal antibody-based solid-phase immunoassay (ELISA) was used to detect adenovirus antigen in clinical specimens during an outbreak of pharyngoconjunctival fever at a boarding school. The use of the kit enabled rapid diagnosis of the cause of the outbreak. The assay was also valuable in confirmation of tissue culture isolation of adenovirus. This kit could be of value to laboratories without tissue culture facilities and as an alternative to immunofluorescence for adenovirus confirmation in laboratories which have such facilities.
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