[Detection of natural infections with theileria annulata on calves at first theileriosis season: comparison of the indirect fluorescent antibody test [IFAT] and blood smears]

The Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test [IFAT] remains so far the most commonly used test for sero-epidemiological investigations on tropical theileriosis [infection of cattle with Theileria annulata]. The present studies evaluated the ability of both IFAT with schizont antigen [schizont IFAT] and blood smears to detect infected animals just after the theileriosis season. This evaluation was performed on a group of 89 calves of known infection status for T. annulata at first disease season, from farms with endemic stability for tropical theileriosis. An additional retrospective group of 84 cattle free of infection was also used for the estimation of the specificity of the schizont IFAT. The sensitivity and the specificity of schizont IFAT were 88.9% [64/72] and 97% [98/101], respectively. Blood smears showed a lower sensitivity of 63.9% [46/72]. The agreement between the two detection techniques and the infection status of the animals, evaluated by the Kappa coefficient, was 0.85 and 0.64 for IFAT and blood smears, respectively

[Research on Parvovirus B19 infections and chronic articular manifestations in a Tunisian hospital]

Parvovirus B19 infection is often associated with acute and chronic joint diseases thus suggesting an etiologic role for the virus in these pathologies. In this work, we looked for a possible correlation between Parvovirus B19 infection and certain types of chronic inflammatory rheumatisms. We therefore, screened a population of 100 patients with different chronic inflammatory rheumatismal affections for serological markers of Parvovirus B19 infection. All patients were Tunisians of both sexes, who presented at the service of Rheumatology of the Charles Nicolle Hospital, Tunis. One hundred blood donors were taken as controls. Specific Immunoenzyme Assays of the ELISA type [Biotrin International, France] were used to detect anti-Parvovirus IgG and IgM. On the other hand, viral DNA was sought by nested PCR in synovial fluid from 14 patients. The data obtained indicate that specific anti-Parvovirus B19 IgG was detectable in the sera of 80.7% of patients and 43% of controls. In contrast, none of the sera was found positive for specific IgM antibodies. Synovial fluid samples could be collected from 14 anti-Parvovirus B19 seropositive patients and were tested for the presence of viral DNA. None of the samples was found positive. The results of our serological study reinforce the hypothesis that Parvovirus B19 infection is associated with rheumatismal joint affections. However, the lack of detectable viral DNA in synovial fluid of the tested seropositive patients points to an indirect role of the virus in these joint disorders

Leucemie aigue granuleuse de l'enfant a propos de 51 cas

A retrospective study of 51 cases of acute myeloblastic leukemia in childhood showed that: 1] the frequency is less than lymphoblastic leukemia. 2] the type M [2] of F.A.B. classification represent 40% of the total cases. 3] tumoral cases are frequent but there is not meningo-cerebral localizations. 4] complete remission is obtained in 60% of cases but relapse is inevitable