Sera from various groups were tested for syphilis by cardiolipin, fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorbed (FTA-ABS), and treponemal haemagglutination (TPHA) tests. The proportion of positive results, 12.7%, obtained from an unselected urban population suggested that the prevalence of the disease had declined since 1953. The probable explanation is the widespread use of penicillin. Late manifes...

An automated technique for measuring haemagglutination kinetics is described. Equipment used in this test is very simple and already present in most blood transfusion centres. This method may be used with advantage to differentiate homozygous and heterozygous subjects in Rhesus, MNSs, and Kell systems, and to study antigen variations, especially in genetic investigations.

The results obtained in a multicentre clinical trial of an enzyme immunoassay (FIA) method for hepatitis В surface antigen (HB.sAg) (65,451 sera tested) have demonstrated that (his new lest has a significantly higher sensitivity than a reversed haemagglutination test (rHA). In a part of the trial, EIA was also compared with radioimmunoassay (RIA). Only a small number of discrepant results was o...

A 27 year old woman was admitted to our hospital with a history of a nonproductive cough and breathingdependent chest pain. The symptoms were manifested after a common cold a few weeks earlier. No fever or loss of body weight was noted. The patient’s medical history was remarkable for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus of 6 yrs duration. She had never smoked. On physical examination, the patie...

Sugiyama live attenuated measles vaccine produced in bovine renal ceIls was administered during pilot studies and a mass immunization programme in Iran. Clinical observations in several of the vaccinees revealed a mild fever lasting 3-4 days which was accompanicd by the appearance of a morbilIiform rash which faded in 2 days. There was no significant difference in rcactions from subcutaneous or...

A total of 6684 sera were initially screened for syphilis by the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test and the Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay (TPHA). Reactive sera from either or both these tests were tested for confirmation by the fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorbed (FTA-ABS) test. VDRL biological false positive reactors were detected in 0.5% of the total sera exami...

A latex enzyme immunoassay (LEIA) for detecting IgG class antibody to rubella virus was compared with the latex agglutination test (LA) and a haemagglutination inhibition assay (HI). Of 243 sera tested, four discrepant results were observed among all three techniques, corresponding to borderline values. Except for one sample containing specific IgM class antibody, the difference between quantit...

In order to obtain evidence on the size of the impact of the Hong Kong/68 variant of influenza A2 virus on the population of São Paulo, Brazil, serum samples taken in 1967 before this variant appeared and during successive years after it appeared were examined for their antibody content. Haemagglutination-inhibition tests performed on a total of 2726 serum samples from adults showed a sharp dec...

To establish the prevalence of syphilis in pregnant women in Mozambique and evaluate present diagnostic methods, 1468 pregnant women in eight of the country's 10 provinces were examined using the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test. Positive serum samples were also analysed using the Treponema pallidum haemagglutination (TPHA) assay and one group was also analysed using the fluores...

The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), reverse passive haemagglutination assay (RPHA) and agar gel precipitation test (AGPT) were compared for the detection of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) in various organs of experimentally infected broilers. RT-PCR and RPHA required a time of 8 and 1 hour, respectively, whereas AGPT showed precipitation reaction at least after...