Publications by authors named "P Beziat"

Anthropogenic gadolinium from MRI contrast agents has been detected in surface waters worldwide. It is released with the treated effluents of wastewater treatment plants, similar to other wastewater-derived substances (WWDS) such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products. We determined concentrations of the rare earth elements in tap water from Berlin, Germany, using an automated preconcentration procedure that is both time- and cost-efficient.

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An effective detection system for TBEV-RNA sequences using a RT-PCR technique has been developed. In our system, specific oligonucleotide primers corresponding to the 5'-terminal noncoding region were successfully used to identify TBEV sequences in ticks. To prove the specificity of the PCR products, Southern blot hybridization with an internal digoxigenin-labelled probe was carried out.

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Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a vector borne and, more rarely, a food (milk, milk products) borne disease of humans. For further characterization of the virus activity in natural foci of TBE more than 32,000 unengorged wild ticks were caught in low and high virus active foci in Germany (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Brandenburg, Thuringia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Saarland). The ticks were examined by RT-PCR and Southern blot hybridization as well as by classical virological methods.

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The aim of the present study was to analyse the current epidemiological situation with respect to TBE in the new federal "Länder" of Germany and in Saarland through detection of the TBEV genome in unengorged ticks using an RT-PCR technique. 22,273 ticks (Ixodes ricinus) were collected in the five new "Länder" (and some in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) and divided into 294 pools. It was possible to detect TBEV RNA in six pools of ticks from Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania [4], Brandenburg [1], Thuringia [1] (and in three pools from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg).

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Background: The tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) causes many cases of severe neurological disease in Europe and Asia. Rapid and virus specific laboratory tests are needed for epidemiological studies and for diagnosis of human diseases.

Objectives: A newly developed colorimetric method, DNA enzyme immunoassay (DEIA), was applied to the detection of TBEV-specific sequences.

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