Prevalence of diphtheria toxin antibodies in human sera from a cross-section of the Italian population.

A polycentric study was carried out between 1993 and 1995 in order to evaluate diphtheria immunity on a representative sample of population from different areas of Italy. To determine diphtheria antitoxin, sera from 5187 apparently healthy subjects, divided according to sex and age groups, were titrated using an ELISA indirect method. A basic protective titre of diphtheria antitoxin (> 0.01 IU ml-1) was found in 4080 (78.6%) subjects. No statistically significant differences between males and females were observed. Our findings show that the proportion of susceptibles increases with age and a high proportion of adults no longer has diphtheria antitoxin at protective levels since toxigenic C. diphtheriae circulation is presently lacking in Italy.

Serosurvey of Leptospira agglutinins among railway employees in the National Railway Compartments of Bologna and Venice.

An epidemiological investigation was performed to evaluate the prevalence of anti-leptospiral agglutinins within a selected population: the railway workers of the Italian Railway Compartments of Bologna and Venice. Leptospira infection prevalence was found to be 10.38%, which represents the highest frequency ever reported in Italy. There was a significantly higher prevalence of agglutinins among the staff of the Railway Compartment of Venice. A clear prevalence of the bratislava serovar was registered, followed by the australis serovar and the icterohaemorrhagiae serovar. The influence of different kinds of railway work and that of supposed risk factors, such as hobbies and housing conditions, together with the influence of the ABO blood groups on the distribution of Leptospira agglutinins, are discussed.

New trends in the rapid serodiagnosis of leptospirosis.

TR/Patoc slide test, ELISA and TIA (Thin-Layer Immunoassay) were evaluated for their use in a rapid serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis. The results obtained indicated that the TR/Patoc slide test is very sensitive and able to detect within a few minutes early antibodies against whichever serovar of leptospires, like the antigens of the Galton test. The value of the ELISA test in detecting antibodies at a low level is confirmed. The TIA assay, employed here for the first time for the diagnosis of leptospirosis, though sensitive seemed too long to perform and consequently it is not a test of choice for a rapid screening of sera.

[Infections caused by hepatitis virus A and B in hospital personnel. Prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis virus A, HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc]. / Infezioni da virus epatitici "A" e "B" in personale ospedaliero. Prevalenza di anti-HAV, HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc.

In order to evaluate the risk of hepatitis A and B virus infection among hospital staff in our area, 584 medical and paramedical employees of the Hospital of Ferrara (Italy) were studied for the presence of anti-HAV, HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc serum. HAV infection was found to be less frequent among medical and nursing staff than the general population, matched for age (78.6% vs 72.2%) indicating that HAV spread within the hospital is irrelevant. However, the evidence of HBV infection is higher in hospital staff than in the general population (37.6% vs 23.0%) with a maximum prevalence in surgeons and in the operating-theatre staff, followed by nurses (both from surgical and medical wards) and physicians. The prevalence in auxiliary staff is not significantly higher than in the general population. The incidence of antibodies against HBV (anti-HBs and anti-HBc) increases with age and duration of employment, while the prevalence reaches a maximum during the initial years. The anti-HBc testing allowed for the detection of further 10% of subjects evidencing previous HBV infection.

[The ELISA test in immunodiagnosis of human hydatidosis. Preliminary observations]. / Il test E.L.I.S.A nella immunodiagnosi dell'idatidosi umana. Osservazioni preliminari.

An evaluation of the E.L.I.S.A. method, compared to the indirect hemagglutination (I.H.) and to the counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) tests for the biological diagnosis of hydatidosis, was performed on 31 sera of patients, carrier of hydatid cysts, on 17 sera of patients with other infectious and parasitic diseases, and on 7 sera of blood donors. The immunoenzymatic test turned out positive in 30 out of the 31 sera of the patients with active hydatidosis (96.7%), while IH and CIEP turned out positive in 29 cases (93.5%). The control sera from patients with other diseases proved to be all negative, except one from a patient with active schistosomiasis. E.L.I.S.A. test was constantly negative with the sera of normal subjects. The validity and usefulness of E.L.I.S.A test for the diagnosis of the hydatid disease is discussed.

[Comparative evaluation of different immunological technics for detection of HBsAg]. / Valutazione comparativa di differenti tecniche immunologiche per la ricerca dell'HBsAg

260 sera from healthy subjects and patients with various diseases (140 subjects with viral hepatitis during the acute stage, 30 with extra-hepatic diseases, 90 blood donors) were tested for HBsAg by the following methods: immunodiffusion according to Ouchterlony, counter-immunelectrophoresis, complement fixation test, passive hemagglutination test, radioimmunoassay. Radioimmunoassay proved to be the more sensitive method. However, the passive hemagglutination test for its simplicity and sensibility, represents the method of choice for screening large population.

[Behavior of serum IGE in human hydatidosis]. / Comportamento della IgE sieriche nell'idatidosi umana

The quantitative assay of serum IgE was performed in 34 patients with active hepatic and extrahepatic hydatidosis, in 10 subjects with previous hydatidosis, who underwent surgery during the preceding 8 years, without clinical signs of relapse, and in 15 normal bloods donors. To this purpose a new type of plate from the market was employed, which, adopting radial immunodiffusion, allows determining quantitatively the IgE serum values at the upper normal limits (800 I.U./ml) besides higher levels. IgE serum concentrations, higher than 800 I.U./ml, were detected in 33 (97.06%) out of the 34 patients with active hydatidosis, in 5 (50%) out of the 10 subjects with previous hydatidosis, in 4 (26.67%) out of the 15 normal subjects. The statistical analysis of the results showed the significance of the comparison between the IgE values observed among the group of the patients with active hydatidosis and those, respectively, of the subjects with previous hydatidosis (p less than 0.05) and of the normal subjects (p less than 0.001). The results obtained are discussed in the light of the most recent knowledge on the role played by IgE in the complex immune mechanism of parasitic diseases.

[Determination of hemagglutination inhibiting antibodies against influenza virus A/Port Chalmers/1/73 in samples from the Roman population (1962-1974). Relation of antibody titers to those obtained against previous influenza A strains]. / Ricerca degli anticorpi emoagglutinoinibenti verso il virus influenzale A/Port Chalmers/1/73 in campioni della popolazione romana (1962-1974). Correlazione dei titoli anticorpali con quelli ottenuti verso precedent varianti di virus influenzale A

The h.i.a. titer has been determined against the strain of the A/Port Chalmers/1/73 influenza virus in 805 serum samples obtained in Rome from as many adults during six distinct periods between spring 1962 and summer-autumn 1974.