The bactericidal activity of Tego 103S was compared with that of chlorhexidine in ethanol, and Tego 103G with Halamid. The activity was determined on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Achromobacter anitratus by various methods. Tego 103S in 1% solution was less active than chlorhexidine 0·5% in 70% ethanol, and Tego 103 G in 1% solution was less active than Halamid 0·3 %. The presence of serum did not noticeably influence the activity of the Tego preparations.

By using neutralization, complement fixation and immunogel-diffusion tests, it has been demonstrated that cross-reactions occur between various avian pox viruses and between sheep pox and goat pox viruses. No such reactions were demonstrated between avian pox viruses and vaccinia virus or between avian pox and sheep pox and goat pox viruses. Furthermore, no serological relationship was demonstrable between vaccinia virus and sheep pox and goat pox viruses.

Studies of the effect of Hong Kong (HK) influenza vaccine were made in adults and children in Great Britain during 1968 and 1969. The vaccines were administered intramuscularly and also by intranasal spray. The serum antibody response was studied in 284 subjects. Most developed rising titres to vaccine given intramuscularly and few to vaccine given intranasally. Deoxycholate-split vaccine was as potent as conventional whole virus vaccine. Antibody titres were maintained for months. Over 4000 subjects in factories, offices and schools were observed during the epidemic. The incidence of disease was not significantly reduced by either form of vaccination. A survey was made of epidemics in boarding schools in which some of the pupils had been vaccinated, in six with commercial polyvalent vaccine and in five with HK; there was a lower incidence of influenza in two schools vaccinated 2 or 4 weeks earlier with HK vaccine.

A total of 1601 adult industrial workers were vaccinated with either monovalent inactivated vaccine of the Hong Kong strain of influenza A virus, or with polyvalent vaccine containing only pre-1968 Asian viruses. Serological investigations on a random sample of volunteers showed that 53/56 (95 %) given Hong Kong vaccine developed a significant rise in specific haemagglutination-inhibiting antibody; final titres were 1/48 or greater in 39 (70%) and the GMT (geometric mean titre) was 96·5. After polyvalent Asian vaccine, 40/67 (60%) also produced antibody against Hong Kong virus, but only 21 (31 %) had final titres of 1/48 or above, and the GMT rose only to 14·1. An intranasal spray of the Hong Kong vaccine in addition to injected Asian vaccine gave no additional increase in antibody.

Each type of vaccine stimulated a recall of pre-existing antibody against Asian viruses. The possible significance of heterologous responses to the two vaccines is discussed.

The incidence of clinical influenza in the trial population was sporadic, and the infection rates were too low to allow any accurate estimate of the protective efficiency of the two vaccines.

This is a survey of 10 years experience in trying to find out how to control hospital sepsis economically. We appear to have obtained reasonable improvements in hygiene by applying the teaching which has been given to students since the time of Leonard Colebrook. For our investigations we used only routine methods.

The order of importance of the factors in reducing cross-infection would appear to be: (1) single rooms for all septic cases and for those requiring protective isolation; (2) a sister supported in complete authority over anyone entering the unit; (3) a simple, inflexible drill to introduce an impermeable layer between the nurse or doctor and the patient—gloves and apron provide this; (4) overshoes and barrier mats; (5) hygienic disposal of linen; (6) an efficient wet dusting and floor cleaning system. Anything beyond this must be justified by saving of nursing time or some factor other than prevention of infection.

This report, based largely on 1258 laboratory proven cases of infectious mononucleosis (IM) detected in the North-Eastern Regional Board area of Scotland during the years 1960–9 inclusive, describes and discusses some of the epidemio-logical and diagnostic aspects of the disease.

During the period of study, the annual rate of incidence increased fourfold from 11·1 to 44·3 cases per 100,000 population. Evidence is presented to indicate that this does not represent a true increase in prevalence but reflects improvements in disease detection. The annual incidence rates as reported by the C.D.S. for 1967–9 inclusive are regarded as a considerable underestimation of the ‘true’ incidence of the disease. Over a 3-year period an annual incidence equivalent to 100 per 100,000 population was found in each of two selected group practices. This value was constant and is thought to approximate the ‘ true’ incidence of symptomatic, seropositive IM in the general community.

Of the 1258 seropositive cases, 48·7 % were males and 51·3 % females. The peak age incidence was 15–19 years for both sexes. Twenty-one per cent of the cases were in children under 15 years and only 8·1 % in adults older than 25 years. No significant variation was found in the seasonal or urban/rural incidence. Marked differences were found in the leucocyte patterns of seropositive and ‘seronegative’ cases.

A serological analysis of the extracellular antigens of Micropolyspora faeni by immunodiffusion with a combination of sera revealed 29 individual antigens. A survey was made of the incidence of precipitins to the antigens in sera from patients with clinical farmer's lung disease (FLD) and other respiratory diseases. Precipitating antibody was found in 75 % of farmer's lung cases and in 20 % of other cases who had been exposed to the same environment. More precipitin reactions were seen in sera from severe forms of FLD than from milder forms. The distribution of precipitins to individual antigens was not significantly affected by severity of disease.

Most of the patients with precipitins to M. faeni, but without the symptoms of FLD, were suffering from mild or moderate symptoms of other respiratory diseases with a history of chronic onset of symptoms. The distribution of precipitins to individual antigens in this group was similar to that in clinical FLD patients but the incidence was considerably lower.

The significance of these results is discussed.

The sera of 308 patients, not suffering from varicella or zoster infections, and the sera of 183 blood donors were examined for complement-fixing antibody to varicella-zoster virus. In both groups about 70% of sera from persons aged 11–40 years had antibody titres ≥ 1/4; the incidence was less in the age range 41–60 years and increased in later decades. Antibody titres of 1/16 or 1/32 were noticeably less frequent in those aged 41–60 years than in younger or older groups.

It was concluded that an unchanging titre of 1/16 or 1/32 was of no diagnostic significance. The age distribution of antibody was consistent with the theory that zoster only occurs when antibody has declined.

An investigation was made of nasal acquisition of Staphylococcus aureus and of staphylococcal wound sepsis in a hospital ward divided into two sections and provided with mechanical ventilation, so that there was no transfer of air from one of the sections to the other. Although the strains of S. aureus found in the air, and those colonizing the noses of patients, in the protected section could seldom be related to patients nursed elsewhere in the ward, the mechanical ventilation did not lead to any significant reduction in the degree of contamination of the air or in the rate of nasal acquisition of S. aureus.

Even in the protected section, nearly 20 % of the strains of S. aureus recovered from the air could not be related to known nasal carriers. Since this proportion was nearly as great as that found in the absence of directed air-flow, it seems probable that these strains were derived either from undetected sources within the section or were dispersed from the clothes of persons who entered it.

Nearly one-third of the nasal acquisitions in the ward could not be related to known nasal carriers, but about one-half of these (16 %) were probably ‘spurious’ and half of the remainder (8 %) could be related to strains recovered from patients' lesions or drawsheets, leaving no more than 8% unaccounted for. A short investigation in which both drawsheet and perineal samples were examined showed that drawsheet samples did not give a reliable indication of perineal carriage unassociated with nasal carriage.

During the period of the investigation, a single strain of S. aureus that was resistant to a wide range of antibiotics established itself in the ward. The most notable character of this strain was the profuse dispersion of it by carriers. As a consequence, staphylococcal wound sepsis increased, with nearly three-quarters of the infections attributable to this strain, and nasal carrier rates increased with length of stay in the ward, over 20 % of patients who stayed 5–6 weeks acquiring the strain.

Experimental arbovirus infections of mice provide a convenient model to study factors which determine the occurrence or severity of encephalitis following ex-traneural infection with certain neurotropic viruses. Varying doses of West Nile or Powassan viruses were inoculated by intraperitoneal or intramuscular routes into mice of varing ages; individual variables were manipulated to influence the outcome of infection. Three patterns of pathogenesis were delineated: (1) Fatal encephalitis, preceded by early viraemia, and invasion of the central nervous system. (2) In-apparent infection, with no detectable viraemia and no evidence of central nervous system invasion. (3) Subclinical encephalitis, usually preceded by trace viraemia, with minimal transient levels of virus in the brain. In this latter type of subclinical infection with a potentially lethal virus, the immune response probably plays an important role in recovery.

Lysogeny was detected in 98·8 % of the 343 Escherichia coli O119: B14 strains. A suitable indicator strain E. coli KS was selected to demonstrate the presence of temperate phages in this serotype. A great diversity in the temperate population was observed based on their lytic patterns and neutralization studies. No definite relationship could be established between the biochemical reactions and the flagellar antigens of the lysogenic strain and its temperate phage though some temperate phages released by E. coli O119:B14 strains with certain flagellar antigens did give specific lytic patterns and were serologically identical. Lysogenic strains, which did not release temperate phages spontaneously, were u.v. in-ductible. Cross-reactions with lysogenized colonies which were immune to corresponding phages also confirmed diversity of temperate phages in E. coli O119: B 14.

A method of drying bacteria is described, in which the bacterial suspension was made in 40% sodium glutamate, and 0·1 ml. volumes of this in 8 ml. ampoules were dried in vacua while being held in a water bath at 25°C. After 1 hr. with the pump still running, the ampoules were immersed in water at 100° C. The partly dried suspension expanded rapidly into a homogeneous white foam. After 30 min. the ampoules were taken off the manifold; small tubes containing dry P2O5 were inserted in the ampoules which were then sealed in air. Preliminary results with three organisms, Salmonella ndolo, Staphylococcus aureus and Serratia marcescens showed high survivals immediately after the ‘foaming’ period, and good stability after 1 or 2 days at 100°C.

The postnatal decline of maternally acquired rubella antibody was studied in a large group of infants. A high degree of variability was found in the rate of antibody decline (half-life). Ninety-two babies had rubella antibody half-lives lying between 14 and 70 days and three had values considerably higher. There was no significant difference between the rubella antibody half-lives of the sexes. The antibody titre at birth was weakly correlated with both birth weight and gestational age. There was a highly significant positive correlation between the baby's antibody titre at birth and that of its mother. There was a positive relationship between the half-life and the persistence of rubella antibody. Some babies had no detectable antibody by 2 months whereas others still possessed antibody at 9 months. It was found that the relationship between the half-life and the rubella antibody titre at or near birth could be described by a rectangular hyperbola.

Membrane and soluble fractions of one genital and two oral strains of Mycoplasma hominis were compared by immunodiffusion and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Differences were demonstrated between the membrane antigens of the three strains by immunodiffusion, and the membrane proteins also gave dissimilar patterns in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The soluble fractions gave identical lines in immunodiffusion tests and similar patterns in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

When the strains were cross-titrated in metabolic inhibition (MI) and indirect haemagglutination (IHA) tests, statistical analysis of the results revealed significant differences between the strains. Previously, growth-inhibition, MI and IHA activity was shown to be associated with the membrane antigens of M. hominis, so the intraspecies differences revealed by MI and IHA correlate with the differences in the membrane antigens demonstrated by immunodiffusion. Growth-inhibition tests, which might also have been expected to show intraspecies differences, did not do so, probably because of the insensitivity of the test. In contrast to MI and IHA, complement-fixation (CF) tests revealed a high degree of relatedness between the strains. This is consistent with the observation that the soluble antigens of M. hominis participate in the CF reaction, and that the soluble antigens of different strains are identical in immunodiffusion tests.

Methods for demonstrating antibody to wart virus by complement fixation and passive haemagglutination tests are described and compared with the precipitin test of Almeida & Goffe (1965). The results reveal the much greater sensitivity of the passive haemagglutination method, particularly in the detection of the immunoglobulin M class of antibody. Both complement-fixing and precipitating antibody were detected in sera from patients whose warts had undergone a spontaneous resolution.

The presence of antibody to wart virus was demonstrated in sera from persons who had had warts up to 10 years previously, and in a few cases from those who thought they had never had warts.

The antigenic identity of virus from hand warts and plantar warts of the simple and mosaic types was revealed, and some evidence was obtained for similar identity of the virus from genital warts.

Acute blood samples from 120 children, attending the fever hospital in Alexandria and complaining of fever, were collected and examined for haemagglutination-inhibiting (HAI) and complement-fixing (CF) antibodies against the following arbovirus antigens; Sindbis, West Nile (WN), yellow fever, dengue 1, sandfly fever, Quaranfil, Chenuda and Nyamanini. Positive reactions in the acute sera were only detected against Sindbis (4·3%) and WN (4·3%) antigens. The convalescent sera obtained from 48 of these children showed a pronounced HAI titre against WN antigen in 14·6 % of them. The same sera showed a lower titre against yellow fever antigen (Asibi strain) which is due to cross-reaction between the two viruses. None of the acute or the convalescent sera showed CF antibodies against Quaranfil, Chenuda or Nyamanini antigens. The convalescent sera were not tested against dengue type 1 antigen. It is suggested that of the known arboviruses in Egypt, WN is the most important from the public health point of view.

The haemagglutinin of influenza virus A 2/Hong Kong/1/68 was shown to be markedly different from that of previously isolated A 2 virus strains. No haemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibody to A 2/Hong Kong/1/68 virus was detected in serum specimens collected in 1966 from persons aged 60 years or less. In contrast, HI antibody tests with 270 sera collected in 1968 indicated that 9·6% had demonstrable HI antibody at low titres, and 35·2% of 454 postepidemic (1969) sera had demonstrable HI antibody at relatively high titres. Most sera from persons aged 80 years and more collected in 1968 and 1969 had demonstrable HI anti-body to influenza virus A 2/Hong Kong/1/68. No HI antibody to the Hong Kong virus was detected in pre-epidemic sera from children aged 6 months to 3 years, whereas 32 % of postepidemic sera had HI antibody. The acquisition of HI antibody to A 2/Hong Kong/1/68 was not accompanied by an increase hi the incidence or titres of HI antibody to heterotypic A 2 influenza viruses. For sera from children aged 4–11 years, an increase of HI titre to heterotypic A 2 influenza was found.

This report summarizes closed, family, and open studies conducted sequentially over a 10 month period with the Cendehill rubella virus vaccine in more than 16,000 children and adolescents. This strain of rubella was attenuated by serial propagation on primary rabbit kidney cell cultures. Inoculation of the Cendehill vaccine produced seroconversion in 97% of the 3589 susceptible (seronegative) vaccinated persons. There was no spread of the virus to susceptible controls living in close contact with those vaccinated. The vaccine was well tolerated. No arthritis or arthralgia occurred in 860 female subjects 13–18 years of age who were included in the study. The Cendehill vaccine would appear to meet the requirements of an acceptable vaccine.