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This study, the first of three designed to determine the feasibility of using owl monkeys infected with human plasmodia in the search for new, more broadly active antimalarial drugs, dealt with the characteristics of untreated infections with eight strains of Plasmodium falciparum and two strains of P. vivax. Such infections, induced by standardized inocula of these strains in 1,733 monkeys, all Aotus trivirgatus griseimembra, were followed from day of inoculation to death of self-cure. The virulence of the various strains differed strikingly. Incidences of fatal reactions, ranging from 24.4--89.4% and 8.1--45.8%, respectively, in infections with strains of P. falciparum and P. vivax, were closely related to the rate at which parasitemia evolved, the height of parasitemia in the primary attack, and/or the time period over which a high parasite level was sustained. Antemortem symptom complexes and gross tissue and organ reactions in infections with P. falciparum varied with survival time, but within that boundary, were the same for infections with all eight strains of this plasmodium. Morbidity in both fatal and self-limited infections with both plasmodial species was related to height of parasitemia; however, at comparable parasite levels, symptoms exhibited in infections with P. vivax were more severe than in infections with P. falciparum. Overall, the characteristics of infections with these plasmodia in owl monkeys were remarkably similar to those of human infections. With respect to biological features, infections with P. falciparum and P. vivax in this simian host appear to have much to offer in the search for new antimalarial drugs.
INTRODUCTION: Co-infections with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) pose clinical challenges in human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals by complicating disease progression and management. This study aimed to investigate the serological and molecular prevalence of HCMV, HBV, HCV, and T. gondii co-infections among treatment-naive HIV-infected individuals. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2022 to August 2024 on 203 treatment- naive HIV-1-infected individuals. Plasma samples were analyzed using ELISA for serological markers and real-time PCR for molecular detection. Statistical analyses were performed to assess demographic and clinical variables associated with co-infections. RESULTS: Among the 203 participants, the prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies, HBsAg, HCMV IgM, and T. gondii IgM was 9.9%, 2.5%, 1.5%, and 0.5%, respectively. Molecular detection confirmed active HBV, HCV, and HCMV infections in 40%, 60%, and 66.7% of seropositive individuals, respectively, while T. gondii DNA was undetected. HCV genotyping revealed subtype 1a as the most common (50%), followed by 3a (37.5%) and 1b (12.5%). DISCUSSION: The findings indicate a moderate prevalence of HBV and HCV co-infections and a low prevalence of HCMV and T. gondii co-infections in treatment-naive HIV patients. CONCLUSION: These results highlight the need for targeted public health interventions, including vaccination and screening strategies, to reduce the risk of co-infections in HIV-infected individuals.
The rate of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection was studied in newborn infants in an African population in which all adults had experienced primary CMV infection during childhood. Viruria within the first 12 hours after delivery was taken as evidence of prenatal CMV infection. 28 of 2032 newborn infants examined had viruria, giving a rate of 1.4% congenital CMV infection. The presence of meternal serum antibody therefore appears not to protect the fetus from intrauterine infection. Either reactivation of latent maternal CMV infection or recurrence of infection during pregnancy despite the presence of serum antibodies may explain these findings. Whether the long-term effects of CMV infection acquired in utero differ in cases of primary maternal infection from those due to reactivated or recurrent infection in seropositive mothers, remains undecided. Thus, the value of a live CMV vaccine to prevent prenatal CMV infection may be questioned.
Various subunit antigens of varicella-zoster (V-Z) virus were examined for complement-fixing (CF) activity with sera from homotypic infections and from herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections in which a CF antibody titer rise was demonstrated with crude V-Z antigen. The subunit antigens included nucleocapsids, envelopes, a soluble antigen produced from infected culture fluids by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, a soluble antigen produced by reducing the volume of clarified infected culture fluids, a soluble antigen derived from infected cell lysates, a "viral" antigen consisting largely of enveloped particles with a few nucleocapsids, and a cell membrane-associated antigen. None was more suitable than crude V-Z antigen for serodifferentiation of V-Z virus and HSV infections. The envelope antigen, cell membrane antigen, and the soluble antigen prepared by density gradient centrifugation showed little reactivity with sera from varicella and HSV infections, but gave high antibody titers with sera from zoster infections, suggesting that a secondary V-Z virus infection is required to produce an antibody response to these subunit antigens. Patients with varicella and zoster infections and the selected patients with HSV infections all showed significant CF antibody responses to the other V-Z subunit antigens.
Studies on the pathogenesis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in guinea pigs have revealed two distinct phases of infection, without any signs of clinical disease. During acute primary infection, viremia was easily demonstrated and infectious virus was recovered from various tissues, including lung, spleen, and kidney, of the infected animal two to 10 days after inoculation. Chronic persistent infection was readily established thereafter. In animals with chronic persistent infection with high levels of circulating antibody, infectious virus was consistently isolated from the salivary gland and pancreas. Evidence of CMV in the blood of the persistently infected animals was detected only occasionally and only when a highly sensitive method and/or a large inoculum was used. However, the anticoagulant heparin was found to inactivate CMV significantly during collection of blood. These data suggest that CMV was indeed circulating in the blood of apparently health but persistently infected animals for prolonged periods. Such infected blood could conceivably be the source of CMV infection when large quantities of blood are given to susceptible recipients.
The formation of cowpox virus-specific cell surface antigen (CPV S-ag) was significantly enhanced by double infection with HVJ (Sendai virus). Simultaneous double infection, superinfection with HVJ and superinfection with CPV of cells persistently infected with HVJ similarly enhanced the formation of CPV S-ag, while pre-infection with HVJ was ineffective. To be effective, cells must be infected at a m.o.i. of greater than or equal to 1.0 and HVJ gene functions had to be expressed. The HVJ-infected cell extracts had an ability to accelerate uncoating (or degradation) of CPV, causing an early increase and a subsequent decrease in the infectivity of CPV. This activity reached a maximum 4--6 hr after HVJ infection, the increase paralleling enhancement of the total activity of several cellular enzymes. Addition of puromycin abolished the increase of these activities and the formation of CPV S-ag. Thus, the double infection with HVJ of CPV-infected cells induces an enhancement of CPV S-ag formation presumably as a consequence of activation of cellular enzymes which in turn accelerates uncoating of CPV.
Treatment of herpes simplex virus (HSV)-infected hairless mice with a 2% phosphonoacetic acid (PAA) ointment prevented the appearance of virus-induced skin lesions and subsequent central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Treatment started 24 h after infection significantly reduced the intensity of the skin lesions and also prevented CNS involvement. After four to six applications of PAA ointment, a moderate skin erythemia developed, followed by scaling and complete healing 7 days after cessation of the treatment. Mice treated early after HSV infection had low or undetectable levels of virus-specific antibodies but were completely resistant to reinfection. Early treatment prevented the development of a latent ganglionic infection, but treatment initiated 24 h after infection could not prevent the establishment of the latent infection. PAA-treated and HSV-infected mice with nondetectable levels of antibodies did not develop, with a single exception, a latent ganglionic infection unpon reinfection. The cell-mediated immune response determined by levels of [14C]thymidine incorporation in Ficoll-Hypaque-purified spleen lymphocytes cultures was low in PAA-treated mice; it increased slightly after challenge infection but was strong in mice that proved to harbor a latent HSV infection in the ganglia.
Salmonella johannesburg (1, 40: b: e, n, x), a previously rare salmonella serotype, has established itself rapidly as an important and highly prevalent cause of gastroenteritis among children. The clinical features of the infection are usually mild but chronic. It has been suggested that S. johannesburg was introduced into Hong Kong through imported foods but no common vehicle could be traced as the source of infection. A thorough investigation of one paediatric ward in a general hospital revealed that non-infected patients admitted to the ward usually acquired S. johannesburg infection within 3-7 days, with or without symptoms. Thus hospital cross-infection could be a significant factor in contributing to its rapid spread in the community. Furthermore, the rapidity with which S. johannesburg spread was facilitated by (a) its tendency to produce a chronic infection, (b) its multiple resistance to antibiotics, and (c) the higher infectivity of S. johannesburg over other salmonellas endemic in this locality. These factors combined with the overcrowded conditions in many of the hospitals in Hong Kong facilitated the occurrence of hospital infection, which in its turn contributed to the spread of the infection in the local community.
When Klebsiella pneumoniae capsular polysaccharide (CPS-K) from type 1, Kasuya strain, was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) immediately before i.p. bacterial challenge, the survival time of mice infected with Salmonella enteritidis NUB 1 (virulent strain) was shortened and the mortality rate for mice infected with S. enteritidis NUB 31 (avirulent strain) was enhanced. The promotion of infection with S. enteritidis NUB 1 by CPS-K depended upon its dose, the effect of CPS-K being demonstrable up to as little as 0.2 mug per mouse. In the case of S. enteritidis NUB 31, the effect of CPS-K was detectable only when more than 20 mug per mouse was injected. As a result of enumeration of bacterial populations in the peritoneal washing, blood, liver and spleen, it was revealed that CPS-K promoted in vivo growth of S. enteritidis NUB 1 and NUB 31. In addition, CPS-K enhanced the mortality rate in mice infected with Streptococcus pyogenes or Streptococcus pneumoniae. The peak CPS-K effect on infection with S. enteritidis NUB 1 was seen when given immediately before bacterial challenge. The active substance responsible for the infection-promoting effect of CPS-K was neutral CPS-K, which is distinct from the O antigen and from acidic CPS-K (the type-specific capsular antigen). Preparations of neutral CPS-K isolated from the other three strains of K. pneumoniae exhibited a marked infection-promoting effect comparable with that of preparations from the Kasuya strain. Neutral CPS-K, with identical antigenicity to that from the Kasuya strain, has already been found to exert a strong adjuvant effect on antibody responses to various antigens in mice. No parallelism exists between infection-promoting activity and adjuvant activity of neutral CPS-K.
Macrophages harvested from the peritoneal cavities of mice of several strains were permissive to infection with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). Macrophages from six mouse strains released equivalent amounts of plaque-forming virus into the culture fluids and cells from mouse strains scored similarly in numbers of infectious centres. Twenty to 50% of the infected macrophages obtained after thioglycollate activation formed infectious centres. When studied by in situ hybridization, more than 82% of infected macrophages (with or without thioglycollate activation) contained MCMV DNA. Macrophages obtained from latently infected mice were examined for their content of MCMV. Using co-cultivation assays, MCMV was frequently recovered from thioglycollate activated macrophages harvested from latently infected mice but only rarely recovered from non-activated macrophages. MCMV DNA--mouse DNA hybridization assays revealed four to seven virus genome DNA copies per 100 cells. These studies indicate that macrophages harvested from mice susceptible (BALB/cSt) or resistant (C3H) to MCMV infection replicated virus equivalently and that macrophages are a reservoir of MCMV during latent and chronic infections. Activation of macrophages may be one of the important steps leading to the exacerbation of in vivo latent infections.
Cytomegaloviurs (CMV) infections are a recognized problem in the first six months after renal transplantation. Studies have suggested that primary infections produce symptomatic disease, whereas reactivation infections are usually asymptomatic. Two patients are described who developed fatal CMV infections in the second year after transplantation. Both patients had typical CMV disease with fever, pneumonitis, and hepatitis. Results of serologic studies in one patient were characteristic of primary infection, with seroconversion at the time of disease and appearance of specific IgM antibodies. The other patient had a similar antibody response at the time of his illness, but serial antibody tests showed that he had had a transient seroconversion earlier, in the second month after transplanation, that was not associated with clinical symptoms. These patients indicate that CMV infection must be considered in the differential diagnosis of serious febrile illnesses even in the late posttransplantation period and may occur either as the result of primary or reactivation infection. Serologic studies at the time of illness may not allow distinction between the types of infection.
The phosphorylation of arabinofuranosylthymine (araThd) has been studied both in non-infected cells and in those infected with herpes simplex virus (HSV-1, Lennette; HSV-1, IES and HSV-2, D-316). In these experiments, HSV strains were used which either contain (Lennette, TK+ and D-316 TK+) or lack (IES, TK-) the capacity to induce pyrimidine deoxyribonucleoside kinase. It was found that extracellularly administered araThd is phosphorylated to ara TTP via araTMP and araTDP in both non-infected and in HSV-infected cells. The phosphorylating capacity is more than tenfold lower in non-infected cells than in infected cells. Interestingly, cells infected with the TK- strain have a tenfold higher phosphorylating capacity than normal, uninfected cells, a fact which might indicate that host cell deoxythymidine kinase is induced during HSV infection. AraTMP is incorporated into cellular DNA but not into HSV DNA. This finding is in contrast to observations with arabinofuranosyladenine, which is incorporated into both cellular and HSV DNA. In vitro experiments with HSV-induced DNA polymerase show that araTTP strongly inhibits the enzyme activity. Therefore we conclude that the inhibition of HSV DNA polymerase by araTTP (formed intracellularly from araThd) is the explanation for the observed antiviral activity of araThd.
The course of louping-ill virus infection in mice chronically infected with Trypanosoma brucei was investigated. The mean survival time of mice infected with virus alone was 10.2 days, compared to 12.8 days in mice infected with T. brucei 14 days before virus challenge, and the cumulative mortality in the two groups was 62.5 and 90%, respectively. Virus was only inconsistently detected in the blood of mice given virus alone but was regularly present at high titers for up to 12 days in the blood of mice previously infected with T. brucei. Titers of virus in brains were also higher in dually infected mice, and encephalitis was of greater severity. These results indicate that the immunosuppressive effect of chronic trypanosomiasis may markedly increase susceptibility to acute virus infection. In addition, it is concluded that vector-vertebrate relationships of arthropod-transmitted viruses may be altered by concurrent trypanosome infection.
An abortive infection of a rabbit cornea cell line (RC-60) by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), yielding less than 1 PFU/cell, was converted to a productive infection, yielding 1,900 PFU/cell, when cells were superinfected with vaccinia. Studies on the synthesis of VSV-directed RNA in RC-60 cells suggest that the abortive infection by VSV alone may be due in part to (i) a limited production of 40S virion RNA and (ii) a markedly reduced activity of virion-bound transcriptase activity in RC-60 cells compared to the activity in mouse L cells, a permissive host for VSV. No recognizable VSV structures, except a small amount of viral core structures, were produced by the abortive infection. In contrast, double infection of RC-60 cells with VSV and vaccinia in the presence of hydroxyurea resulted in the production of infective B particles of VSV. Although the function supplied by vaccinia responsible for the productive replication of VSV in double infected RC-60 cells has not been identified, metabolic inhibitor studies indicate that continuous vaccinia-dependent RNA synthesis is required for maximal production of infective VSV. The possibility is considered that vaccinia may supply a product or function required for VSV replication which is ordinarily supplied by the host but which is lacking in RC-60 cells.
The La Crosse (LAC) virus infection rate of Aedes triseriatus larvae that ingest LAC virus does not appear to be increased by concomitant infection of larvae by the gregarine parasite, Ascocystis barretti. Infection rates ranged only from 0--2.6% in adult Ae. triseriatus reared from groups of A. barretti-infected larvae that had ingested LAC virus (California encephalitis group) at dosages of 2.0--7.7 log10 SMICLD50/ml. Females resulting from orally infected larvae transmitted LAC virus to suckling mice. Larvae that were infected with A. barretti and devoured carcasses of adult mosquitoes containing 4.7 log10 SMICLD50/ml failed to become infected. A. barretti spores developing in transovarially infected mosquitoes did not harbor LAC virus; thus, A. barretti does not appear to be a mechanism for virus dispersal.
During studies on the mechanisms of virus latency, reactivation and resultant tissue injury in mice infected with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) in utero or at birth, we found the occurrence of three distinct pathological groups. In the first group, mice died within 4 weeks of exposure to virus and showed evidence of tissue injury due to MCMV in multiple tissues and organs of the body. The second group consisted of mice which survived the initial infection and was composed of a minority (about 25%) which shed virus (chronically infected). The third group (about 75%) consisted of mice in which shedding of virus could not be detected (latently infected). Study of the latter group indicated that virus was not detected in brain, thymus, liver, kidneys, urine or serum by co-cultivation techniques or by cellular DNA-MCMV DNA hybridization. In contrast, virus could be activated from spleen cells by co-cultivation with allogenic but not syngeneic feeder cells and MCMV-DNA was detected in amounts equivalent to 3 to 4 virus genomes per 100 spleen cells. In both the latently infected and chronically infected mice, in all strains studied evidence of virus-antivirus immune complex deposits in the renal glomeruli occurred. Only one of the six infected strains (C57 Br/cdJ) studied showed manifestations of autoimmune disease with the formation of antibodies to nuclear antigens, DNA and soluble nucleoprotein.
Cross-sectional surveys of infection in relation to ward structure and practice were made in 38 hospitals between 1967 and 1973, including repeat surveys in 12 hospitals. The survey team (a research nurse and a senior microbiologist or technician) visited one ward a day and entered data on patients, including appearance of wounds seen at change of dressings, on the structure of the ward, and on ward practices; bacteriological swabs were taken from noses of all patients and staff of wards visited and from infected or open wounds, also from some environmental sites. Effect of age, sex, length of hospital stay and antibiotic use on carriage of tetracycline-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and on post-operative sepsis are considered here.Clinical infection (sepsis), further classified as ;severe', ;moderate' or ;mild' in accordance with a code of physical signs, including inflammation and suppuration, was found in 6.1% of clean undrained operation wounds. Drained wounds and those through hollow, heavily colonized viscera (;contaminated' wounds) had higher sepsis rates than undrained and ;clean' wounds; there was less sepsis with closed drainage and with small drains. Staph. aureus (24%) was the commonest single bacterial species, but gram-negative bacilli (50%) were found in a much larger proportion of septic wounds. The results showed that the infection rate was lowest among patients between 20 and 40 years old. Infection was significantly more common in male than in female patients.Nasal carriage of tetracycline-resistant Staph. aureus, used as an index of hospital-acquired infection, was commonest in geriatric patients and least common in gynaecological patients. There was correlation between nasal carriage of tetracycline-resistant staphylococci and age of the patient, length of hospital stay, sex, (male greater than female), operative treatment, and treatment with tetracycline, ampicillin and nitrofurantoin, but not with penicillin.