Use of Indonesian non-human primate erythrocytes for measles hemagglutination inhibition serology.

The use of erythrocytes (RBC) from Presbytis cristata, P. melalophus and Macaca fascicularis for measles hemagglutination inhibition serologies is presented. These primates can provide a ready supply of RBC for diagnostic reagent use in areas of the world where the African green monkey or rhesus macaque are not available. Individuals of each species are useful but must be screened for hemagglutination ability of their erythrocytes. The animal can then be chosen that has erythrocytes which best agglutinate with the antigen being used.

Correlation of population indices of female Culex tritaeniorhynchus with Japanese encephalitis viral activity in Kapuk, Indonesia.

Nineteen consecutive monthly light trap collections of mosquitoes were made between October 1978 and April 1980 in Kapuk, Indonesia. Kapuk is a small suburb of Jakarta where pigs are raised in close proximity to rice paddies which are breeding sites for Culex tritaeniorhynchus. Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is believed to be endemic and has been recovered from mosquitoes and pigs in the area on several occasions. A total of 18,435 female Cx. tritaeniorhynchus were allocated to 359 pools of approximately 50 per pool. Virus isolations were attempted in both Vero and BHK-21 cells and agents producing cytopathic effect were identified in a micro-neutralization test. Nineteen strains of JE were recovered from the 359 pools of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus tested. The light trap index of female Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (X) and the relative frequency of pools positive for JE (Y) for each month of the study were plotted and correlation coefficients (r) calculated after transforming the mosquito population data logarithmically and the relative frequencies of isolation by arcsine square root. The close fit of the data (p less than 0.001) to an inverse linear model (1/y = a + b log10X) suggests a close dependence of JE viral activity on the population dynamics of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus. Three additional strains of JE were recovered from other Culex spp. at the same study site. One strain each was isolated from individual pools of Cx. gelidus, Cx. vishnui and Cx. fuscocephala. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was more frequently infected with JE than the other species tested.

Rapid diagnosis of lymphocytic meningitis by frequency-pulsed electron capture gas-liquid chromatography: differentiation of tuberculous, cryptococcal, and viral meningitis.

Cerebrospinal fluid specimens from patients with tuberculous (17 cases), cryptococcal (15 cases), and viral (14 cases) meningitis were analyzed by frequency-pulsed electron capture gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Compounds that disappeared after therapy were found to be present in each of these specimens and were not detected in controls. They occurred in repetitive patterns such that these three types of meningitis could be rapidly distinguished. The compound associated with tuberculous meningitis has been tentatively identified. These finding have implications for rapid diagnosis, pathophysiological studies, and possible new therapeutic approaches.

Electron capture gas chromatography detection and mass spectrum identification of 3-(2'-ketohexyl)indoline in spinal fluids of patients with tuberculous meningitis.

A basic, extractable, indolic type of compound, which was derivatized with heptafluorobutyric anhydride and pyridine, was obtained from the cerebrospinal fluids of patients with acute tuberculous meningitis. The compound was detected by frequency-pulsed, modulated electron capture gas-liquid chromatography, and it was tentatively identified by mass spectrometry as 3-(2'-ketohexyl)indoline. The compound was found to be valuable for differentiating between tuberculous, cryptococcal, and aseptic meningitides.

Soldado virus from Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) maritimus (Ixodoidea: Argasidae) infesting herring gull nests on Puffin Island, Northern Wales.

Three strains of Soldado (SOL) virus (Hughes serogroup) were isolated from nymphal and adult Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) maritimus Vermeil et Marguet collected in and near nests of the Herring Gull, Larus a. argentatus Pontoppidan, on Puffin Island, northern Wales. Reciprocal complement fixation (CF) titration results demonstrated recovered virus strains to be SOL virus and antigenically distinct from other Hughes serogroup members. All isolates killed mice and guinea pigs, and 1-2 day old domestic chicks when inoculated intracerebrally.

Soldado virus (Hughes group) from Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) capensis (Ixodoidea: Argasidae) infesting Sooty Tern colonies in the Seychelles, Indian Ocean.

In the summer of 1973, about 5,000 pairs of adult Sooty Terns abandoned a specific part of their breeding grounds on Bird Island in the Seychelles. Incubated eggs and newly hatched chicks were left unattended and the area was not reoccupied in 1974. Numerous Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) capensis occurred in the deserted part in both years, but few or none in the area where bird breeding was normal. Persons visiting the deserted area were bitten by many ticks and experienced severe pruritus persisting for several days. In 1973 and 1974, Soldado (SOL) virus (Hughes serogroup) was isolated from the ticks taken on Bird Island from the ground and from sick and not visibly sick chicks of the Sooty Tern, and also from nests of the Blue-faced Booby on Des Noeufs Island. When ticks from the ground and from Sooty Tern chicks were fed on domestic chicks, they transmitted SOL virus and caused the death of their hosts. Soldado virus was previously known only from O. (A.) capensis-group ticks infesting marine bird colonies on islands off Trinidad and in a lake in Ethiopia. We have also isolated SOL virus from another species of the subgenus Alectorobius from Wales, Great Britain. Marine bird migrations undoubtedly account for the remarkably extensive distribution of SOL virus. The role of migration in the mechanisms and dynamics of tick and virus distribution, and the comparative growth cycles of Hughes serogroup viruses in Ornithodoros ticks, remain to be determined for a better epidemiological understanding of this agent.