Search results for "Serology"
showing 10 items of 189 documents
Importance of dogs as sentinels of West Nile Virus activity in urban and suburban areas
2012
Background: West Nile Virus (WNV) is a virus included in the Japanese encephalitis sero-complex within the genus Flavivirus. In August 2010, cases of West Nile disease were reported for the first time in Sicily. Neurological symptomswere observed in native horses resident in the rural areas around the province of Trapani, in the western part of the island. During the epidemic, important critical questions onwhen the viruswas introduced in the area and aboutwhether the virus had circulated/was circulating in theurban area, emerged and needed to be answered. A retrospective study using dog serum samples was designed to answer these questions. Methods: Between January 2009 and September 2010, …
Epidemiological study ofCryptosporidium parvum in sera of persons from Germany
1998
In a seroprevalence study including 495 sera from persons of all age-groups, the presence of anti-Cryptosporidium parvum antibodies was evaluated in an enzyme immunoassay. Despite the fact that C. parvum is only found in approximately 2% of patients with diarrhea in Germany, specific antibodies could be detected in 15.4% of all samples. This figure indicates that a substantial proportion of the German population has been confronted with this parasite and it raises the question of whether C. parvum is a potential health risk to the general population.
Serological prevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Luanda (Angola): Geospatial distribution and its association with socio-demographic and …
2020
We report a study on toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Luanda, Angola, determining the seroprevalence, geospatial distribution and its association with socio-economic features, dietary habits and hygiene and health conditions. Anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM were quantified in serum samples of women attended at the Lucrecia Paim Maternity Hospital between May 2016 and August 2017. The IgG avidity test and qPCR assay were used for dating the primary infection. Data were collected by questionnaire after written consent, and spatial distribution was assessed through a Kernel Density Function. The potential risk factors associated with Toxoplasma infection were evaluated using bivariate and…
Sero-epidemiologal association between human-papillomavirus infection and risk of prostate cancer
1998
Some epidemiological studies of prostate cancer have suggested the existence of a sexually transmitted risk factor, and some studies have reported the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in prostate-cancer tissue. To perform a sero-epidemiological evaluation of whether HPV infection is associated with increased risk for prostate cancer, we performed a nested case-control study within a serum bank containing samples from 20,243 healthy Finnish men. We identified 165 cases of prostate cancer that were diagnosed up to 24 years after donation of the serum sample. Two control subjects per case were selected, matched for gender, age and municipality of residence. Serum samples were analyze…
Human papillomavirus infections and upper aero-digestive tract cancers: the ARCAGE study.
2013
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is causally implicated in a subset of cancers of the upper aero-digestive tract (UADT). Methods Associations between type-specific HPV antibodies were examined among 1496 UADT cancer case subjects and 1425 control subjects by estimating odds ratios (ORs) in logistic regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders. The agreement between serology and tumor markers of HPV infection, including presence of HPV DNA and p16 expression, were examined in a subset of tumors. Results HPV16 L1 seropositivity was associated with increased risk of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer (OR = 1.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03 to 3.65; OR = 8.60, 95% CI = 5.21 to 14.…
Prevalence of human parvovirus B19 in blood donors as determined by a haemagglutination assay and verified by the polymerase chain reaction
2002
Background and Objectives Transmission of human parvovirus B19 (PV B19) by transfusion of blood and blood products is well documented. Although PV B19 infection is connected with severe complications in some recipients, donor screening is not yet mandatory. In this study the prevalence of PV B19, as detected by a haemagglutination assay (the Human PV B19 Antigen-Test), was assessed. In addition, the persistence of B19 DNA and the serological status of blood donors was also assessed. The specificity and utility of the Human PV B19 Antigen-Test for donor screening was investigated and compared with other screening strategies. Materials and Methods The prevalence of PV B19 viraemia was assesse…
Serum antibodies to thymus epithelial cells in non-A, non-B and cryptogenic chronic liver disease
2008
Antibodies against thymus epithelial cells (anti-TEC) and the basal cell layer (BCLA) of squamous epithelia have been described in association with HDV-related chronic liver disease (CLD). Data are lacking on their presence during nAnB virus infection. Sera from 51 patients with nAnB post-transfusion hepatitis, including acute and chronic cases diagnosed during a prospective study on candidates for cardiac surgery, and 167 with various forms of CLD were tested for the presence of anti-TEC and BCLA using indirect immunofluorescence on human thymus and rat forestomach sections. Both antibodies mainly occurred in nAnB, HDV and cryptogenic CLD (anti-TEC: 51%, 47% and 42%; BCLA: 29%, 38% and 31%…
A case of Waldenstroem's disease with a monoclonal IgM antiphospholipid antibody
2002
The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) was described in 1983 as a clinical entity characterized by venous and arterial thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, and recurrent fetal loss. The serological markers of APS are antiphospholipid antibodies (APLA) directed mainly against anionic phospholipids, usually cardiolipin but also phosphatidylserine. Some APLA exhibit lupus anticoagulant activity. Monoclonal gammopathy sometimes occurs with the presence of autoantibodies. In this paper, we describe a patient with the diagnosis of immunocytoma with an IgM, kappa paraprotein with apparent specificity against anionic phospholipids, and lupus anticoagulant activity, but no clinical signs of APS. We describe i…
The global village of celiac disease
2004
In the last years our knowledge on epidemiology of celiac disease has increased: there is a wide spectrum of its clinical presentation (classical, atypical, silent and latent forms of celiac disease), and of its pathological mucosal intestinal features, which range from early and mild pictures to severe villous atrophy (Marsh stages). In addition, a strong genetic component, associated with the susceptibility to the disease (HLA and non HLA genes), has been found. This knowledge, together with the availability of new high sensitive and specific serological tests (antigliadin, antiendomysium and antitransglutaminase antibodies), has led us to the realization that celiac disease is the most c…
Magnetic resonance imaging in infections of the brain: findings in tuberculosis, listeriosis, toxoplasmosis, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, and…
1987
A total of 6 patients with various inflammatory brain diseases were investigated by MRI. Typical diagnostic criteria like signal intensity, location, and morphology of the lesions are presented. MRI proves to be a highly sensitive method to detect encephalitic foci, which, however, suffers from a low specificity. Therefore additional informations like case history, clinical findings, and serological data have to be considered to find the correct diagnosis.