An outbreak of Aseptic Meningitis due to echovirus type 30 in two cities of Turkey.

An outbreak of aseptic meningitis due to echovirus 30 occurred in Ankara and Antalya in Turkey, during June to September 1999, with 176 cases fitting the clinical case definition. Cases were ascertained from attendees of the three hospitals in Ankara and one in Antalya. Medical files were reviewed and evaluated retrospectively.

Preparation and properties of a stable intravenous lorazepam emulsion.

Lorazepam is normally administered as a solution in organic solvents such as propylene glycol. This type of formulation is undesirable. This study describes the development of a parenteral emulsion formulation for lorazepam.

Production of monoclonal antibodies to rotavirus suitable for detection of rotavirus in stool samples by one-step EIA.

Two stable hybridoma cell clones producing high amounts of monoclonal antibodies (MAb) to rotavirus have been selected. The MAbs were shown to recognize different epitopes of the major inner capsid rotavirus protein VP 6. The two types of MAb in question cross-reacted with human and animal group A rotaviruses.

Long-term persistence of hepatitis C virus antibodies in a single source outbreak.

The occurrence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) was investigated in 81 patients who developed hepatitis non-A, non-B (HNANB) after parenteral administration of contaminated immunoglobulin to prevent Rh sensitization. Sera from 74 of the 81 patients (89.9%) were anti-HCV positive at either 6-12 months or 9-10 years after administration of immunoglobulin.

Rapid, easy and economical dot EIA for detection of antibodies to HIV-1 using recombinant env- and gag-proteins.

A rapid and simple screening test for antibodies to HIV-1 was designed on the principle of dot-EIA. Recombinant HIV-1 env and gag polypeptides are fixed on nitrocellulose sheets. Peroxidase conjugated protein A is used for detection of bound antibodies.

Properties of rabies strain ("Pasteur Potsdam") adapted to primary dog kidney cells.

The Pasteur strain of fixed rabies virus (Pasteur Institute Paris, passage 2061 in rabbit brain) was adapted by alternate passages to primary dog kidney cells. The adapted rabies virus designated as "Pasteur Potsdam" developed no CPE and yielded four harvests with a titre of 5.5-7.

Long-term analysis of sterility testing of immunobiological preparations.

The data for sterility testing for 16 years show a high stability from different points of view. The summarized and compared results after 10 and 16 years are similar, so we can assume a fixed methodological, technological and biological balance. The necessity of changes in these methods and the achieved balance is discussed.

Interaction between anti-influenza viral polymerase antibodies and RNP particles using the in vitro transcription process and an immunogold labelling technique.

Immunogold labelling and in vitro transcription of influenza virus vRNA have been used to analyse the interaction of anti-influenza polymerase antibodies with influenza-ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes. The polymerase proteins (P proteins) were localized exclusively at one end of the RNP segments. In the course of transcription the amount of P protein decreased significantly.

Antibodies to polymerase proteins of influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1): comparison on the immunoreactivity with polymerase proteins of other influenza A and B virus strains.

The polymerase proteins (PB1, PB2, PA) of the influenza virus strain A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) were isolated from whole virion or ribonucleoprotein (RNP) fractions by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel and electroelution or Sepharose CL-6B chromatography in the presence of SDS. Antisera to polymerase proteins (P proteins) were raised in rabbits; the immunoglobulins (Ig) were purified by affinity chromatography. Characterization of the antibody fraction by Western blot analysis showed a highly monospecific reaction with the three polymerase proteins.

Functional and structural analysis of the ribonucleoprotein complexes of different human influenza virus strains.

Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) cores were prepared from various strains of human influenza virus by treating the purified or spikeless virus particles with non-ionic detergents such as Nonidet P-40 and centrifugation in continuous linear glycerol gradients. In addition to RNA, the purified complexes contained viral nucleoprotein (NP) and the three P proteins (PA, PB1, PB2) as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) under denaturing conditions. Contaminations with other viral polypeptides, especially HA1, HA2 and M were below 1%.

Complete nucleotide sequence of the neuraminidase gene of the human influenza virus A/Chile/1/83 (H1N1). Brief report.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the neuraminidase (NA) gene of influenza virus A/Chile/1/83 (H1N1) has been determined after reverse transcription and cloning into the plasmid pAT 153/PvuII/8. The gene is 1461 nucleotides long and codes for a protein of 470 amino acids. The overall nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequence of the A/Chile/1/83 NA exhibits a high homology with other N1 neuraminidases.

Evolution of influenza polymerase: nucleotide sequence of the PB2 gene of A/Chile/1/83 (H1 N1).

The complete nucleotide sequence of the PB2 gene of influenza virus A/Chile/1/83 (H1 N1) is presented. Sequence comparison between A/Chile PB2 protein and the known PB2 sequences of the influenza strains A/WSN/33 (H1 N1), A/PR/8/34 (H1 N1), A/NT/60/68 (H3 N2), A/Kiev/59/79 (H1 N1), A/FPV/Rostock/34 (H7 N1), and B/Ann Arbor/1/66 indicates extensive amino acid homology for the influenza A virus PB2 proteins. Small clusters of basic amino acids are conserved in all PB2 proteins including the influenza B PB2 protein which has only 39% sequence homology overall to the PB2 polypeptides of type A influenza viruses.