IgM to varicella-zoster virus: demonstration in patients with and without clinical zoster.

Antibody to varicella-zoster (VZ) virus of the IgM type was detected in sera from 50% of persons with clinical zoster, 67% of asymptomatic varicella immunes with a recent intimate exposure to VZ virus and 22 to 40% of varicella immunes with no symptoms of zoster or known exposure to the virus. No VZ IgM was found in newborn sera or in sera from persons susceptible to varicella, demonstrating specificity of the VA IgM assay. Since development of specific IgM is associated with acute infection, these data suggest that reinfection with VA virus occurs and also that antigenic stimulation due to exposure to endogenous VZ virus may occur.

Serology of Legionnaires disease: comparison of indirect fluorescent antibody, immune adherence hemagglutination, and indirect hemagglutination tests.

An immune adherence hemagglutination (IAHA) test for the measurement of antibodies to Legionella pneumophila was developed and evaluated for the diagnosis of Legionnaires disease. Its sensitivity was compared to that of the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test and a recently developed indirect hemagglutination (IHA) test. The sensitivity of the three tests appeared to be similar, with the IFA test giving slightly higher titers.

Methods for rapid detection of human ocular viral infections.

Recent methods for detection of viruses in clinical specimens include immunofluorescence, immunoperoxidase, immune adherence hemagglutination, radioimmunoassay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunoelectron microscopy. Some are useful for the detection of traces of viral antigens but are more complicated and time-consuming than others. Simple techniques of immunofluorescence and negative stain electron microscopy are used for the rapid detection of viruses in human adenoviral, herpetic, rubella, molluscum contagiosum, and vaccinial infections.

Inhibition of adenovirus replication in vitro by trifluridine.

At present, there is no effective chemotherapeutic agent available for the treatment of adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis. Recent evidence suggests that trifluridine (3FT) may effectively inhibit the replication of some adenovirus serotypes known to cause keratoconjunctivitis. The ability of 3FT to inhibit two reference strains of adenoviruses, type 8 and type 19, was examined using cell cultures.