Intranasal vaccination with a single 0·5 ml dose of 107.0 EID 50 WRL 105 strain live influenza vaccine elicited four-fold or greater increases in circulating homotypic haemagglutinating inhibiting (HAT) antibody in 60 (64·5 %) of 93 volunteers, or in 58 (74·4%) of 78 volunteers with HAI antibody titres before vaccination of ≤ 1/20. In comparison, in a group of volunteers vaccinated 9 months previously re-vaccination elicited antibody responses in only 4 (6·9 %) of 58 volunteers, or in 3 (14·3%) of 21 volunteers with antibody titres before vaccination of ≤ 1/20.

Titres of vaccine-induced antibody and antibody resulting from earlier natural infection appeared to fall slowly and at equivalent rates over a 9 month period.

The jejunal and stool flora of children with gastroenteritis in London and in Jamaica was examined. Although bacterial colonization of the small bowel was commonly detected, it was unusual to find the same serotype of E. coli in both jejunum and stool, and none of the jejunal strains of E. coli produced either heat-labile or heat-stable enterotoxin. Some strains of E. coli causing infant gastroenteritis are neither toxigenic nor invasive, and other mechanisms must be sought to account for their pathogenicity.

A study was made of the growth of three strains of non-cholera vibrio in a range of foodstuffs and of the effect of temperature and pH on their ability to grow.

Growth was tested at 4°, 10°, 22°, 30°, 37° and 43 °C in a range of foods likely to be incorporated into cold hors d'oeuvres, e.g. egg, cream, rice, cold meat, seafood, aspic and mayonnaise. Non-cholera vibrios grew well in all these foods except mayonnaise, the rate of growth increasing with increased temperature of storage.

At acid pH values the organisms died or grew very poorly but growth improved as the pH became more alkaline. None of the three strains showed any resistance to heat, an initial inoculum of > 107 organisms/g was reduced to < 100 organisms/g in 2–3 mm at 55°C.

Aqueous suspensions of Staphylococcus aureus were deposited on a Millipore filter and then exposed for a few seconds to 70 % ethyl alcohol. Viable counts of bacteria extracted from the filter immediately after exposure to alcohol, and, in replicate experiments, after a further period of 3 h, showed that the mean immediate reduction of 97·6 % in viable counts after treatment with alcohol was followed by a further mean reduction of 67· 1 % in the further 3 h holding time; the same bacterial suspensions allowed to dry on Millipore filters without exposure to alcohol showed a significantly smaller mean reduction in viable counts (34·3 %) during a further 3 h holding time. These findings support the view that the reported further fall in numbers of bacteria on hands while wearing gloves for 3 h after alcohol disinfection can be explained by sublethal damage to some of the bacteria, from which they can recover only if promptly inoculated on culture medium.

In a factual report of this kind something must be said about the financial resources of the Institution, if only to show how handicapped a research laboratory is whose income is below that required for its proper functioning; and at the same time how much can be done by men of vision and determination in the most difficult and disheartening circumstances.

During commercial processing of broiler chickens, injection of polyphosphate (Puron 604 or 6040) resulted in microorganisms being added to the deep breast muscle. The level of contamination was related to the microbiological condition of the injection solution.

Injection of polyphosphate had no effect on the shelf-life of fresh chilled carcasses held at 1° or 10°C but changes were observed in the growth rate of microorganisms in the deep muscle and in the composition of the muscle microflora following storage.

Cross-contamination of carcasses and the transfer of organisms from the skin to the deep muscle during injection was demonstrated with a marker strain of Clostridium perfringens. However, both processes were influenced by the number of marker organisms applied initially to the skin.

The above findings are discussed in relation to the possible behaviour of any food poisoning bacteria present.

The distribution of phage types was studied among 577 strains of Salmonella typhi from Indonesia. Chemotype, colicinogeny, and tetrathionate reductase activity were also studied for most of these strains. The current phage type formula for Java was determined to be: A, D2, D6, E1a, E2, M1, and 46, but two other large groups of strains were also found, I +IV and degraded Vi + strains. Significant differences in S. typhi strain distributions were noted between two localities on Java with respect to phage type and tetrathionate reductase activity. Comparisons were made with past phage typing studies in Jakarta as well as with more recent studies in other parts of south-east Asia. Phage types A, Dl, D2, and El persisted at a rather steady level in Jakarta for 28 years. Evidence was found for epidemiological links to European and Asian areas. Antibiotic resistance among these Indonesian S. typhi strains was rare.

The history of the Brown Animal Sanatory Institution was intended originally to be published in book form, and was therefore divided into chapters. For the sake of convenience this division has been continued, even though it is unusual for the term to be employed in scientific periodicals. The history will be published serially in four consecutive issues of the Journal of Hygiene. References have presented a difficulty. In two instances the title of the paper referred to has had to be omitted, because no copy of the original journal in which the article appeared has been obtainable. More important, however, is the failure to give references, beyond the date, to a number of statements in the text, because the information in question has been abstracted from sources that are not available to the general reader.