A controlled trial of inactivated monovalent influenza A vaccines in general practice

SUMMARYA trial of influenza A vaccines in general practice is described. Five hundred and seven subjects were vaccinated with either inactivated monovalent A/Hong Kong vaccine, A/England vaccine or influenza B vaccine as control. Local reactions were noted in 24% and general reactions in 12% of patients. Antibody titres in serum were measured by haemagglutination inhibition (HI) and complement fixation (CF) tests in 465 subjects. The influenza vaccines produced substantial increases in both homologous and heterologous antibodies as measured by the HI test and a comparatively poor response as measured by the CF test. Although clinical influenza was confirmed in only a few cases, there was serological evidence of significant subclinical infection in the control group.

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Antibody against viruses in maternal and cord sera: specific antibody is concentrated on the fetal side of the circulation

Journal of Hygiene ◽

10.1017/s0022172400070832 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 89 (2) ◽

pp. 303-310 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

P. D. Griffiths ◽

S. I. Berney ◽

S. Argent ◽

R. B. Heath

Keyword(s):

Herpes Simplex ◽

Influenza A Virus ◽

Specific Antibody ◽

Measles Virus ◽

Influenza A ◽

Complement Fixation ◽

Haemagglutination Inhibition ◽

Influenza B Virus ◽

Influenza B ◽

B Virus

SUMMARYPaired maternal and cord sera from 100 pregnancies were tested for antibodies against herpes simplex virus, measles virus and respiratory syncytial virus by complement fixation and for antibodies against rubella virus, influenza A virus and influenza B virus by haemagglutination-inhibition. For four viruses (herpes simplex, measles, respiratory syncytial and rubella) higher levels of antibody were found in cord than in maternal sera. There was no difference between maternal and cord serum titres against influenza B virus but significantly higher levels of antibody against influenza A virus were found in maternal sera than in cord sera. This discrepancy was investigated by measuring antibodies against the surface antigens of influenza A by a complement fixation technique, and by single radial haemolysis. Both methods showed a preponderance of virus-specific antibody in cord sera. We conclude that IgG antibodies against most, if not all, viruses are concentrated on the fetal side of the circulation, but that conventional haemagglutination-inhibition techniques may fail to detect this difference.

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Long-Term Effect of Interactive Online Dietician Weight Loss Advice in General Practice (LIVA) Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

International Journal of Family Medicine ◽

10.1155/2014/245347 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Carl J. Brandt ◽

Vibeke Brandt ◽

Mathilde Pedersen ◽

Dorte Glintborg ◽

Søren Toubro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Weight Loss ◽

General Practice ◽

Large Scale ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Complex Interventions ◽

Control Group ◽

Average Weight ◽

Practice Setting ◽

Management Support ◽

General Practice Setting

Background. Internet-based complex interventions aiming to promote weight loss and optimize healthy behaviors have attracted much attention. However, evidence for effect is lacking. Obesity is a growing problem, resulting in an increasing demand for cost efficient weight loss programs suitable for use on a large scale, for example, as part of standard primary care. In a previous pilot project by Brandt et al. (2011) without a control group, we examined the effects of online dietician counseling and found an average weight loss of 7.0 kg (95% CI: 4.6 to 9.3 kg) after 20 months. Aims and Methods. To analyze the effects of a complex intervention using trained dieticians in a general practice setting combined with internet-based interactive and personalized weight management support compared with conventional advice with a noninteractive internet support as placebo treatment in 340 overweight patients during a 2-year period. Primary endpoints are weight loss and lowering of cholesterol (LDL). We will also explore patients’ sociodemographics and use of the intervention as well as the health professionals’ views and perceptions of the intervention (their role and the advice and support that they provide). Perspective. The project will generate knowledge on the cost-effectiveness of a complex internet-based intervention in a general practice setting and on barriers and acceptability among professionals and patients.

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Haemagglutination-inhibition antibodies against influenza A and influenza B in maternal and neonatal sera

Journal of Hygiene ◽

10.1017/s0022172400053353 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 80 (1) ◽

pp. 13-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

N. Masurel ◽

J. I. de Bruijne ◽

H. A. Beuningh ◽

H. J. A. Schouten

Keyword(s):

Influenza Virus ◽

Maternal Age ◽

Influenza A ◽

Haemagglutination Inhibition ◽

Influenza Viruses ◽

Influenza B Virus ◽

Influenza B ◽

B Virus ◽

Duration Of Pregnancy ◽

Pregnancy And Birth

SUMMARYHaemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies against the influenza viruses A/Hong Kong/8/68 (H3N2) and B/Nederland/77/66 were determined in 420 paired sera from mothers and newborns (umbilical cord sera), sampled in 1970–1.A higher concentration of antibodies against influenza A virus was found more frequently in neonatal than in maternal sera. By contrast, low titres against influenza B virus were more frequently observed in neonatal than in maternal sera. Maternal age, duration of pregnancy, and birth-weight did not affect the results of the tests.It is suggested that the titre of the newborn against an epidemic influenza virus can be predicted from that of the mother. Furthermore, the maternal titre may be an indication of the susceptibility of the newborn infant to influenza infections.

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Serological evidence of continuing infection of swine in Great Britain with an influenza A virus (H3N2)

Journal of Hygiene ◽

10.1017/s0022172400024876 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 80 (3) ◽

pp. 415-422 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

M. S. Chapman ◽

P. H. Lamont ◽

J. W. Harkness

Keyword(s):

Great Britain ◽

Influenza A Virus ◽

Small Proportion ◽

Human Population ◽

Influenza A ◽

Haemagglutination Inhibition ◽

Swine Influenza ◽

Seasonal Fluctuations ◽

Serological Evidence ◽

Serum Samples

SummarySerum samples collected from swine and cattle in Great Britain at various times between July 1971 and July 1977 were examined by haemagglutination-inhibition or single radial haemolysis methods for evidence of infection with influenza A (H3N2) viruses. A small proportion of swine sera collected in each year reacted in the tests but there was no evidence of infection in cattle. The significance of the findings is discussed, with particular reference to the seasonal fluctuations in the prevalence of antibody in swine observed during the period of the study, and their possible relevance to influenzal events in the human population. None of the sera tested had antibody to swine influenza strains (HSw1N1).

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The mode of action of an antiviral substance from Penicillium cyaneo-fulvum

Canadian Journal of Microbiology ◽

10.1139/m68-034 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 197-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tam S. David-West ◽

Patricia M. Cooke ◽

J. W. Stevenson

Keyword(s):

Influenza A ◽

Antiviral Agents ◽

Haemagglutination Inhibition ◽

Influenza B Virus ◽

Influenza B ◽

Virus Particles ◽

Virus Adsorption ◽

B Virus ◽

Antiviral Substance ◽

Replicative Cycle

An antiviral substance elaborated in Czapek-Dox broth by a strain of Penicillium cyaneo-fulvum isolated in this laboratory, and active against influenza A virus (PR8), influenza B virus (Lee), and Newcastle disease virus (B1) in modified Maitland tissue cultures has been shown to act at an intracellular site in the viral replicative cycle. The substance neither blocks virus adsorption nor impedes the release of newly formed virus particles. It is not viricidal, does not interfere with the action of ths viral neuraminidase on red blood cells, and does not possess any haemagglutination or haemagglutination–inhibition activity. A comparison with other reported antiviral agents shows that the antiviral substance is different from those previously studied.

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Para-influenza 2 virus infections in adult volunteers

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0022172400021021 ◽

1963 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 407-417 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

D. Taylor-Robinson ◽

M. L. Bynoe

Keyword(s):

Antibody Response ◽

Technical Assistance ◽

Clinical Evidence ◽

Complement Fixation ◽

Haemagglutination Inhibition ◽

Neutralizing Antibody ◽

Virus Infections ◽

Johns Hopkins University ◽

Antibody Titres ◽

Adult Volunteers

Twenty-eight adult volunteers were inoculated intranasally with para influenza 2 virus and eight developed illnesses; twenty-eight volunteers were given flanks' saline and one became ill. The illnesses occurred in volunteers given between 2 × 104 and 2 × 106 TCD 50 of virus. The most prominent symptoms were sore throat, nasal stuffiness and coryza; four of the eight volunteers had sufficient coryza to be regarded as having mild colds. Although only eight volunteers had clinical evidence of infection, twenty-four had laboratory evidence of infection as judged by virus re-isolation or antibody response. Neutralization, haemagglutination-inhibition and complement-fixation tests on paired sera showed that sixteen individuals had a fourfold or greater antibody response by one or more tests including five of the eight volunteers who were ill. Twenty volunteers, including seven who were ill, had reciprocal neutralizing antibody titres of eight or more before inoculation of virus so it seems that the illnesses were due to re infection in the presence of antibody. Evidence is presented which suggests that although illnesses occurred in the presence of antibody they were due to the para influenza 2 virus and not some other agent in the inoculum. The results of these experiments seem to fulifi the third of Koch's postulates for para-influenza 2 virus as a cause of respiratory disease in adults.We wish to thank Dr P. A. J. Tyrreil for his advice during the course of this work and in the preparation of the manuscript. We also thank Dr K. V. Shah (The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, U.S.A.) for help in some of the early experiments and Miss B. Ridgwell for valuable technical assistance.

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The HI test modified by ether treatment in the sero-epidemiological surveillance of influenza B

Journal of Hygiene ◽

10.1017/s002217240006157x ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 94 (3) ◽

pp. 341-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

R. Pyhälä ◽

M. Kleemola ◽

R. Visakorpi

Keyword(s):

Antibody Level ◽

Immune Status ◽

Complement Fixation ◽

Haemagglutination Inhibition ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Virus Antigen ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

Influenza B ◽

Ether Treatment

SUMMARYEther-treated influenza B haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antigen was used in a study of serum collections from three different epidemic seasons.For diagnostic purposes, ether treatment increased the efficacy of the HI test by about 50 % over the conventional HI technique, raising it to the same level of sensitivity as the complement fixation (CF) test. The treatment reduced the specificity of the HI test, but its reliability in the diagnosis of influenza B infections was only slightly diminished. With regard to evaluation of the immune status of a given population, an HI test using ether-treated antigen from the epidemic influenza B strain seems to give more relevant information about the antibody level associated with protection than a conventional HI test using untreated virus antigen.

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Serological studies of influenza viruses in pigs in Great Britain 1991–2

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268800052225 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 114 (3) ◽

pp. 511-520 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

I. H. Brown ◽

P. A. Harris ◽

D. J. Alexander

Keyword(s):

Great Britain ◽

Influenza A ◽

H1n1 Virus ◽

Haemagglutination Inhibition ◽

Influenza Viruses ◽

Antigenic Drift ◽

H3n2 Virus ◽

Influenza B Virus ◽

Influenza B ◽

Influenza A Viruses

SUMMARYSamples from a sow serum bank representative of the pig population of Great Britain collected during 1991–2, were examined for antibodies to influenza A, B and C viruses, using viruses which had been isolated from a variety of hosts. For influenza A viruses there was evidence of the continued circulation of ‘classical swine’ H1N1 virus (26%) seroprevalence), and human H3N2 viruses (39%) which are antigenically most closely-related to A/Port Chalmers/1/73 virus. In addition antibodies were detected to A/swine/England/201635/92 (8%), a strain of H3N2 virus which appears to have arisen by antigenic drift from conventional H3N2 swine strains. Specific antibodies (2%) were detected to an H1N1 virus (A/swine/England/195852/92) related most closely to avian H1N1 strains. In tests with human H1N1 and H3N2 viruses, excluding isolates from pigs, the highest seroprevalence was detected to the prevailing strains from the human population. Serological tests with avian H4 and H10, human H2, equine 1 and 2 influenza A viruses were all negative. Seven pigs seropositive by haemagglutination-inhibition, virus neutralization and immunoblotting assays for antibody to influenza B virus, were randomly distributed geographically suggesting that influenza B viruses may be transmitted to pigs but fail to spread. The seroprevalence to influenza C viruses was 9·9% indicating that these viruses are widespread in pigs. These results provide further evidence that the pig can be infected by a number of influenza viruses, some of which may have significance in the epidemiology of human influenza.

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Protection by a polyvalent influenza vaccine and persistence of homologous and heterologous HI antibodies during a period of two epidemic seasons

Journal of Hygiene ◽

10.1017/s0022172400026735 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 84 (2) ◽

pp. 237-245 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. Pyhälä

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Antibody Response ◽

Influenza Vaccine ◽

Influenza A ◽

Geometric Mean ◽

Influenza B ◽

Trial Period ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Antibody Titres ◽

The Individual

SUMMARYA split-product influenza A vaccine which contained an influenza B strain (B/Hong Kong/8/73) and two influenza A strains, antigenically identical with A/Fort Dix/741/76 (HswlNl) and A/Victoria/3/75 (H3N2), was offered to personnel of the CPHL. Changes in the antibody status were followed with serum samples collected from 153 participants on the day of vaccination and 1, 13 and 18 months thereafter. During the two epidemic seasons in the trial period there were only four serological influenza A infections (2·6%) among the vaccinees. This is one eighth of the corresponding infection rate (22%) in the general population estimated on the basis of other indices.The vaccinees' antibody response was strongly influenced by the age of the individual subjects. During the trial period the decrease in the antibody titres slowed down. The geometric mean titres of homologous HI antibodies were still substantially higher at the end of the period than at the beginning. This also applied to heterologous antibodies against H1N1 viruses in persons born between 1926 and 1952. In participants born after 1952, the vaccine was not able to evoke these antibodies, and in participants born in or before 1925 the boosting effect was poor.

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