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Unresponsiveness to skin testing with PPD and tetanus toxoid was commonly seen in patients with haemophilia A but not infected with human immunodeficiency virus but was uncommon in controls. Vaccination history indicated that the unresponsive patients had not been immunised in childhood. Other tests of immune competence (skin tests with other antigens, lymphocyte stimulation with mitogens and antigens, and viral serology) showed that the haemophilia A patients had an adequate response to pathogens to which they had been exposed. Five of 12 such patients had a mild T4 lymphopenia, and this may have been related to parenteral administration of large quantities of protein. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A modified haemagglutination inhibition test for rubella antibodies using prestandardized freeze-dried reagents was compared to a "standard" method. Tests of 707 serum samples showed that the modified test was sensitive and reliable by both macrotitration and microtitration techniques. The minor disadvantages of some reduction in antibody level when rubella sera were tested within one week of the rash and of spontaneous sheep erythrocyte agglutination in 0-7% of sera were out-weighed by the increased speed of the new test and the fact that it was carried out at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Immunofluorescent serum IgM and/or a significant level of IgA antibody was detected in 87% of 39 cases of current or recent influenza A infection from two to 84 days after the onset of illness. Secondary IgM staining occurred in 5% of sera and a significant correlation was found between complement-fixing and class-specific antibodies. It was estimated that the immunofluorescent test could be diagnostic in 64% of single sera with levels of CF antibody between 32 and 256, and because anti-s antibody was detected in the IgM test this test did not differentiate primary and secondary influenza A infection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Virus isolation tests on 72 sudden unexplained infant deaths and 34 cases of explained death showed that 42 and 29% respectively had virus infections. A wide range of viruses was encountered, mainly enteroviruses and adenoviruses, mostly from bowel specimens. The findings did not suggest that overwhelming virus infection was a common feature of sudden death in infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Serum immunoglobulin concentrations, predominantly IgM, were raised in 72% of 39 sudden infant death cases, consistent with a state of prolonged or repeated antigenic stimulation. Anti-antibody was found in cases of sudden death significantly more frequently than in ill but living control infants. It is suggested that anti-antibody might participate in fatal anaphylaxis in such cases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A comparison of immunofluorescent tests for the diagnosis of respiratory syncytial (RS) virus infections was carried out on 42 hospitalized cases of respiratory infection in childhood. Respiratory syncytial virus was detected in 22 (52%) cases, the most sensitive method of detection being by indirect immunofluorescence of Bristol HeLa tissue cultures inoculated with nasopharyngeal aspirates. The highest detection rate was in bronchiolitis cases (92%). Detection of antibody rises in paired sera, eight days apart, confirmed RS virus infection in 13 of 16 cases, the most sensitive test being detection of a specific rise in IgG antibody by indirect immunofluorescence. A serodiagnosis was made in all 10 non-bronchiolitis cases. Recommendations are made for the application ofimmunofluorescence to routine diagnosis of RS virus infection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]