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Two European laboratories independently detected atypical bovine pestiviral nucleic acids in three commercial batches of foetal bovine serum (FBS) that was claimed by the producers to be of Australian origin. Additional batches of FBS were obtained directly from Australia to exclude possible contamination of the Australian FBS with that of South American origin during manufacturing/packaging in European countries. RT-PCR amplification of partial 5′untranslated region and the complete Npro gene yielded a specific band with expected size, which was confirmed by DNA sequencing. Bayesian analysis of sequence data demonstrated a closer phylogenetic relation of the newly detected atypical bovine pestiviruses to those of South American origin, which were related to the recognized bovine pestivirus species, bovine viral diarrhoea virus. Taken together, the results indicated the presence of atypical bovine pestiviruses in the Australian FBS, and most likely in Australian Continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: The performance of commercialHelicobacter pyloridiagnostic kits developed for particular geographic regions has often been found to be of poor diagnostic value when applied to other regions, possibly because of infections being caused by differentH. pyloristrains in different regions.: To evaluate the performance of an IgG2 anti-H. pylorienzyme-linked immunoassay test (Helirad Alert) for detection ofH. pyloriinfection in both Australian and Hong Kong (Chinese) subjects.: Serum samples were tested forH. pylorispecific IgG2 and IgG antibodies by enzyme-linked immunoassay kits using identical antigen preparation in 168 Australian and 160 Hong Kong (Chinese) subjects diagnosed with dyspepsia.: Using a cut-off value determined by analysis ofH. pylori-negative Australian samples, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the IgG2 assay were 77.8, 97.4 and 91.1%, respectively, for the Australian samples and 96.3, 83.8 and 90% for Hong Kong samples. For the IgG assay, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 87.0, 99.1 and 95.2% for Australian samples and 97.5, 75 and 86.3% for Hong Kong samples respectively. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis showed better discrimination ofH. pyloristatus when the IgG2 assay was applied to Hong Kong samples, while the IgG assay was better in the Australian samples.: These data demonstrate that the Helirad Alert enzyme-linked immunoassay could provide a reliable method for screeningH. pyloriinfection in both western and Chinese populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liao ning virus (LNV) is a member of the genus Seadornavirus, family Reoviridae and has been isolated from kinds of vectors in Asia and Australia. However, there are no systematic studies describe the molecular genetic evolution and migration of LNVs. With the development of bioinformatics, viral genetic data combining the information of virus isolation time and locations could be integrated to infer the virus evolution and spread in nature., Methods: Here, a phylogenetic and phylogeographic analysis using Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations was conducted on the LNVs isolated from a variety of vectors during 1990-2014 to identify the evolution and migration patterns of LNVs., Results: The results demonstrated that the LNV could be divided into 3 genotypes, of which genotype 1 mainly composed of LNVs isolated from Australia during 1990 to 2014 and the original LNV strain (LNV-NE97-31) isolated from Liaoning province in northern China in 1997, genotype 2 comprised of the isolates all from Xinjiang province in western China and genotype 3 consisted the isolates from Qinghai and Shanxi province of central China. LNVs emerged about 272 years ago and gradually evolved into three lineages in the order genotype 1, genotype 2 and genotype 3. Following phylogeographic analysis, it shows genotype 1 LNVs transmitted from Australia (113°E-153°E,10°S-42°S) to Liaoning province (118°E-125°E,38°N-43°N) in Northeast Asian continent then further spread across the central part of China to western China (75°E-95°E,35°N-50°N)., Conclusion: LNVs were initially isolated from Liaoning province of China in the Northeast Asia, however, the present study revealed that LNVs were first appeared in Australia in the South Pacific region and transmitted to mainland China then rapidly spread across China and evolved three different genotypes. The above results suggested that LNV had the characteristics of long-distance transmission and there were great genetic diversity existed in the LNV population. Notably, current information of 80 strains of LNVs are limited. It is of great importance to strengthen the surveillance of LNVs to explore its real origin in nature and monitoring of the LNVs' population variation and maintain vigilance to avoid LNV breaking through the species barrier and further clarify its relationship to human and animal infection.

Objective: To identify demographic and endoscopic characteristics of patients with Helicobacter pylori positive and negative chronic peptic ulcer disease., Design: Cross-sectional study of peptic ulcer disease in prospectively recruited PATIENTS undergoing gastroscopy., Patients: 277 consecutive patients referred for gastroscopy in 1996-1998., Main Outcome Measures: Rapid urease test, culture and histological examination for H. pylori infection; anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies in serum; demographic data, intake of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the preceding 3 months, and size, number and location of ulcers., Results: 54 patients (19%) had evidence of peptic ulcer disease (34 gastric ulcer, 14 duodenal ulcer and 6 both gastric and duodenal ulcer); 45 had active chronic peptic ulcer disease and were analysed in detail. H. pylori was present in 25 (56%) of these patients; 10 (22%) had used NSAIDs and 7 of the NSAID group also had H. pylori infection. Of the patients with gastric ulcers, those with non-H. pylori, non-NSAID ulcers were significantly younger than both those with H. pylori-associated ulcers (mean age, 48 v. 65 years, P = 0.02) and those with NSAID-associated ulcers (mean age, 48 v 68 years, P = 0.02). The average size and number of gastric ulcers did not differ between patients with and without H. pylori infection. Of patients with duodenal ulcers, those with H. pylori infection had significantly fewer ulcers (1.1 v. 1.8, P = 0.04), although ulcer size was similar in the infected and uninfected groups., Conclusions: Gastric ulcers may now be more common than duodenal ulcers. Gastric ulcers associated with H. pylori infection and/or NSAID use occurred mostly in older people, while non-H. pylori, non-NSAID gastric ulcers were more common in younger patients. In the duodenum, single ulcers were associated with H. pylori infection, and multiple ulcers were more frequent in the non-H. pylori, non-NSAID group.

Background: Rapid whole blood tests for Helicobacter pylori infection were developed to assist in the management of patients with dyspepsia in general practice. However, they have not been extensively tested in this setting., Aim: To investigate the test characteristics of the BM-Test (Helisal Quick Test) when used in general practice., Method: One hundred and ten dyspeptic patients attending local general practitioners were recruited into the study. The BM-Test was administered by the general practitioner at the screening visit according to standard instructions supplied with the test kit. The patient was then referred to Nepean or Mornington Peninsula Hospitals for further assessment. including a 14C-urea breath test. The test kit was forwarded to the appropriate hospital centre for an independent, blinded reading. The sensitivity and specificity of the BM-Test were evaluated against the results of the 14C-UBT., Results: Based on general practitioner readings, the BM-Test had a sensitivity of 59.3% and a specificity of 90.2%. The positive and negative predictive values were 87.5% and 65.7%, respectively. When based on independent readings, sensitivity rose to 71.2% and specificity fell to 88.2%. The BM-Test was more sensitive for older patients than for younger patients when based on both the general practitioner and independent readings., Conclusion: The BM-Test performs below the generally recommended sensitivity and specificity of 90% required for clinical practice.