ABSTRACT
A renal transplant patient was infected by a transfusion of blood from a chronic carrier of hepatitis B and he also became a symptomless carrier. Stored sera enabled detailed retrospective measurement of the rate of decline of passively transferred HBsAg, anti-HBc, and anti-HBe. Active HBsAg production was detected after two months and anti-HBc after six months; neither HBe nor anti-HBe was actively produced although there were many 42 nm HBV particles in the patient's serum.
Subject(s)
Carrier State/transmission , Hepatitis B/transmission , Transfusion Reaction , Adult , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
A trial of a modified reverse passive haemagglutination test for HBsAg using a 0.1% cell suspension instead of the recommended 1% showed an approximately eight-fold increase in detection sensitivity. The test can be performed within 30 minutes and lends itself to mass screening techniques. Confirmation tests can be done using the 0.1% method. In addition, the same serological plates and cells used for HBsAg screening can then be used to screen for high-titre anti-HBs. This makes the overall screening for both HBsAg and high-titre anti-HBs donors cheap and convenient.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Viral/analysis , Blood Donors , Hemagglutination Tests , Hepatitis B Antibodies/analysis , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/analysis , False Positive Reactions , Hepatitis B/immunology , Humans , RadioimmunoassayABSTRACT
Medical, social, and sexual histories were taken from 198 men attending a department for sexually transmitted diseases. Their blood was tested for hepatitis B surface antigen and its antibody, and also for syphilis and liver function. Infection with hepatitis B virus was found to be common among practising homosexuals and to occur much more frequently in them than in heterosexuals. Hepatitis B appeared to be transmitted sexually rather than by other means, but it was not possible in this study to link its transmission with any particular homosexual practice. However, risk of infection increased considerably with the number of sexual partners and nearly half of those with more than 40 sexual partners had been infected.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis B/transmission , Homosexuality , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/analysis , Humans , Liver Function Tests , Male , Sexual Behavior , Social Behavior , Syphilis SerodiagnosisABSTRACT
In a retrospective comparison between countermigration immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) and reverse passive haemagglutination (RPHA) for screening 260,500 blood donations, the latter's 10-fold increase in sensitivity resulted in 36% more HBsAg detections. In a prospective comparison between RPHA and radioimmunoassay (RIA) the latter's 40-fold increase in sensitivity over RPHA resulted in 11% more detections than RPHA in 27,094 new donors. One in 500 new donors was HBsAg-positive by RPHA, compared with 1 in 11,000 established donors who had donated and been tested previously. Acute hepatitis B infections, though uncommon, accounted for a greater proportion of the HBsAg-positive found in "established" rather than new donors. Reported post-transfusion hepatitis cases have declined following the introduction of screening tests in 1971. The feasibility of RIA testing at a transfusion centre supplied simply with the two basic RIA reagents has been demonstrated.
Subject(s)
Blood Donors , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/analysis , Counterimmunoelectrophoresis , False Positive Reactions , Hemagglutination Tests , Hepatitis/etiology , Humans , Jaundice/immunology , Radioimmunoassay , Transfusion ReactionABSTRACT
Serum specimens tested for rubella-specific IgM by the haemagglutination-inhibition technique may give false-positive results due to (a) storage at -20 degrees C, (b) bacterial contamination, or (c) inactivation at 56 degrees C. These false-positive reactions can be distinguished from rubella-specific IgM activity by their resistance to 2-ME.
Subject(s)
Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests , Immunoglobulin M , Rubella/diagnosis , Cold Temperature , False Positive Reactions , Female , Hot Temperature , Humans , Pregnancy , Rubella virus/immunologyABSTRACT
Two passive haemagglutination methods for detecting HBsAg were compared. In general, the method using turkey erythrocytes was found preferable to the method employing sheep cells since it is more rapid and more sensitive, and less frequently gave rise to false positive reactions with sera from staff, blood donors, and patients not receiving haemodialysis. The turkey cell test gives rise to more false positive screen tests than the sheep cell test when monitoring renal dialysis patients since approximately 10% of the sera of these patients were found to contain turkey cell agglutinins, but this presents no particular difficulty if the recommended absorption procedures are used.
Subject(s)
Hemagglutination Tests/methods , Hepatitis B Antigens/analysis , Animals , Cell Membrane/immunology , Erythrocytes/immunology , False Positive Reactions , Humans , Renal Dialysis , Sheep/immunology , Turkeys/immunologyABSTRACT
The results of testing sera from 111 patients with rubella-like illnesses and 283 contacts of patients with rubella-like illnesses are described. A sensitive haemagglutination-inhibition test was used in conjunction with fractionation of serum proteins when this was indicated. It was concluded that the testing of serum protein fractions for IgM and IgG rubella antibody greatly increased the effectiveness of laboratory diagnosis. Evidence is presented that during the study period subclinical rubella was relatively uncommon in adults and that the accuracy of clinical diagnosis was high.
Subject(s)
Rubella/immunology , Adolescent , Adult , Child, Preschool , Chromatography, Gel , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests , Humans , Immunoglobulin M/analysis , Male , Pregnancy , Rubella/diagnosis , Serology , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Peers and Linsell (1973) demonstrated a significant association between the incidence of primary liver cancer and ingested aflatoxin in a study in the Muranga district of Kenya. A study of hepatitis B antigen in the same district showed no significant differences between the low altitude area, with a relatively high incidence of primary liver cancer, and the high altitude area with a lower incidence of the tumour. Current evidence is more in favour of aflatoxin playing an important role in the aetiology of primary liver cancer but hepatitis B antigen may play an ancillary role.