spp.) that cohabitated the pond, but showed no external signs of disease, were positive for ranavirus by PCR using primers M153 and M154. Further sequence analyses are ongoing, and additional investigations of other amphibians and fishes are needed. Live freshwater fish from several countries have been imported into Japan. However, large amounts (<1,300 tons in 2007) of live aquaculture product...

IKEDA, S., CHIBA, S., CHIBA, Y., NAKAO, T. and Fuuui, S. Epidemiological, Clinical and Serological Studies on Epidemic of Mumps in an Infant Nursery. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1971, 105 (4), 327-337 •\ Epidemiological, clinical and serological studies on the epidemic mumps were carried out in 47 infants in Central Babies Home, Sapporo. Furthermore by utilizing fluorescent antibody tests the influenc...

OBJECTIVES To determine maternal and neonatal specific antibody levels to selected vaccine-preventable infections (pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), tetanus and pneumococcus). DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING A UK secondary care maternity unit (March 2011-January 2012). PARTICIPANTS Mothers and infants within 72 h of delivery were eligible. Unwell individuals, mother...

Maternal effects are ubiquitous. Yet, the pathways through which maternal occur in wild mammals remain largely unknown. We hypothesise that immune transfer is a key mechanism by mothers can affect their offspring fitness, and individual variation maternally derived antibodies mainly depends on mother's characteristics environmental conditions she experiences. To test this, we assayed six colost...

Congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) arises as a result of new acquisition of Toxoplasma infection by a susceptible woman during pregnancy. Early detection of CT through neonatal screening programmes could optimize management and improve infant outcome. This study sought to estimate the prevalence of Toxoplasma susceptibility in pregnant women. As detection of Toxoplasma antibodies in neonatal blood r...

In adults, psychological stress regulates immune responsiveness in part via the increased levels of corticosterone that are produced as a result of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation. However, there is a lack of knowledge as to the role such regulation may play in the neonate. Neonates are severely compromised in their ability to generate an immune response to pathogens encoun...

Because of the difficulty of conducting efficacy trials of vaccines against group B streptococcus (GBS), the licensure of these vaccines may have to rely on studies that measure vaccine-induced antibody levels that correlate with protection. This study estimates the level of maternal antibody required to protect neonates against early-onset disease (EOD) caused by GBS type Ia. Levels of materna...

Patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) are protected for the first few months of life by maternal antibody, which is actively transported across the placenta during the last months of pregnancy (1). Patients do not typically present clinically with infection until after 6 months of age, when the infant’s maternally derived antibody level approaches zero (2). After the diagnosis, treatm...

Newborn infants, especially preterm infants, have an immature immune system, which is not capable to actively protect against vaccine-preventable infections. Therefore, the newborn is dependent on transplacental transport of Immunoglobulin G (IgG), an active, FcRn receptor mediated process. Fetal IgG rises from approximately 10% of the maternal concentration at 17-22weeks of gestation to 50% at...

The immunogenic efficacy of inactivated (Salk) poliovirus vaccine (IPV) was evaluated in infants in India, in view of the high frequency of vaccine failure after immunization with oral (Sabin) poliovirus vaccine (OPV). A total of 150 infants, aged 6-45 weeks, were given 3 doses of IPV, with intervals of 4 or 8 weeks between doses. The effect on the antibody response of child's age, presence of ...