ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A measles outbreak in a facility housing Old World nonhuman primates developed over a 2-month period in 1996, providing an opportunity to study the epidemiology of this highly infectious disease in an animal-handling setting. METHODS: Serum and urine specimens were collected from monkeys housed in the room where the initial measles cases were identified, other monkeys with suspicious measles-like signs, and employees working in the affected areas. Serum specimens were tested for measles virus-specific IgG and IgM antibodies, and urine specimens were tested for measles virus by virus isolation or reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: A total of 94 monkeys in two separate facilities had evidence of an acute measles infection. The outbreak was caused by a wild-type virus that had been associated with recent human cases of acute measles in the United States; however, an investigation was unable to identify the original source of the outbreak. Quarantine and massive vaccination helped to control further spread of infection. CONCLUSIONS: Results emphasize the value of having a measles control plan in place that includes a preventive measles vaccination program involving human and nonhuman primates to decrease the likelihood of a facility outbreak.
Subject(s)
Cercopithecidae , Measles/veterinary , Monkey Diseases/virology , Animals , Antibodies, Viral/blood , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Immunoglobulin M/blood , Infection Control , Macaca fascicularis , Macaca mulatta , Macaca nemestrina , Measles/prevention & control , Measles/transmission , Measles Vaccine , Measles virus/genetics , Measles virus/immunology , Measles virus/isolation & purification , Medical Laboratory Personnel , Monkey Diseases/prevention & control , Quarantine , RNA, Viral/chemistry , Sequence Analysis, RNA , Urine/virologyABSTRACT
Analysis of urine specimens by using reverse transcriptase-PCR was evaluated as a rapid assay to identify individuals infected with measles virus. For the study, daily urine samples were obtained from either 15-month-old children or young adults following measles immunization. Overall, measles virus RNA was detected in 10 of 12 children during the 2-week sampling period. In some cases, measles virus RNA was detected as early as 1 day or as late as 14 days after vaccination. Measles virus RNA was also detected in the urine samples from all four of the young adults between 1 and 13 days after vaccination. This assay will enable continued studies of the shedding and transmission of measles virus and, it is hoped, will provide a rapid means to identify measles infection, especially in mild or asymptomatic cases.
Subject(s)
Measles virus/isolation & purification , Measles/virology , RNA, Viral/urine , Adult , Base Sequence , Humans , Infant , Measles/prevention & control , Measles/urine , Molecular Sequence Data , VaccinationABSTRACT
A nonradioactive, colorimetric microplate hybridization procedure was used to assay human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) DNA, amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Under the PCR conditions used, four proviral copies per 150,000 cells were detected by amplifying a series of DNA mixtures that contained various copy numbers of HIV. Assays of PCR-amplified DNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of seronegative individuals yielded negative results (104 of 104), whereas samples from seropositive individuals yielded > 99% positive results (141 of 142). Similar results were obtained in a chemiluminescent assay with an acridinium ester-labeled probe and in a solution hybridization assay in which a 32P-labeled probe was used.
