Prevalence of antibody to current influenza virus strains in adolescents

During the Spring of 1986, 118 pupils aged 15-18 years were surveyed for the presence of humoral antibodies to five influenza strains. Prevalence of humoral immunity (HI) antibodies and immunity was found to be related to the year of the strain's emergence and to length of circulation time in the community. A high percentage of the adolescents were not immune to one or more of the tested strains. More than 40% of the studied group were not immune to the old A strains A/Philipines 2/82 (H3N2) and A/Chile 1/83 (H1N1), nearly 70% were not immune to the two B strains (B/USSR 100/83 and B/Ann Arbor 1/86), and almost the entire group (96%) was unprotected against the recent strain A/Singapore 6/86. Only one pupil was immune to all five strains; 35.6%, 22.2%, 17.8%, and 9.2% were immune to one, two, three, or four of the strains, respectively; and 14.4% were not immune to even one strain.     

Cellular response in humans following vaccination with gripax influenza virus

Cellular response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to influenza antigens was measured in a group of young nurse-student volunteers (17–24 years old), following vaccination with a formol-inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine (Gripax). Cord blood lymphocytes (controls) did not react with any of the antigens. This excluded the possibility of any nonspecific mitogenicity of viral antigens. Viability of the cells was indicated by their responsiveness to phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Prior to immunization antigenic recognition to circulating strains (A/England (H₃N₂) and B/Hong Kong) was found in about 44% of the vaccinees; recognition of the recent strain A/USSR (H₁N₁) was found in only 10.5%. Following vaccination, approximately 80% of the subjects exhibited cellular response to all three vaccine strains. This includes the negative subjects, who showed an approximate 70% rate of conversion. There was no correlation between the antibody state and cellular response prior to and following vaccination as gathered from matched data of each participant.     

Is herpes simplex virus associated with pulp/periapical inflammation?

OBJECTIVES: This study focuses on the detection of herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA in dental pulp and inflamed periapical tissue.Study Design: Dental pulp tissue (vital and necrotic) and periapical tissue samples were collected under strictly sterile conditions and examined for the presence of HSV DNA. Saliva samples were also examined for the presence of the viral DNA. The polymerase chain reaction assay was used to detect viral DNA. Blood samples were collected, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies against HSV was carried out. RESULTS: According to the ELISA test, 19 of the 23 blood samples were IgG-positive and IgM-negative to HSV, whereas 4 were IgG-negative and IgM-negative. HSV DNA was not detected in the tissue and the saliva samples tested. CONCLUSION: HSV is not present and therefore is probably not involved in the pathology of tooth neural tissue.     

Mucosal [SIgA] and serum [IgG] immunologic responses in the community after a single intra-nasal immunization with a new inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine.

Influenza morbidity affects entire populations, imposing an enormous burden in economic terms from working days lost. Protection afforded by current vaccines is often unsatisfactory and many individuals remain averse to injections. To counter these drawbacks, we tested an inactive intra-nasal trivalent influenza vaccine on 182 vaccinated and 92 placebo subjects in the community.On study completion 73 and 66% of the subjects were immune to the vaccine's two A strains, 40% (> or=1:40) and 65% (> or=1:20) to its B strain; 30-40% demonstrated a 4x hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) titer increase; GMT titers increased 2.2-2.5x. About 50% of those initially non-immune became immune. A local antibody response to the three vaccine strains was recorded in 31-44% of vaccinees in which 57, 68 and 54% exhibited a mucosal and/or serum antibody response to the A/Johannesburg, A/Nanchang and B/Harbin strains, respectively. A higher dose (40mg) of A/Johannesburg in the vaccine did not influence response.The new vaccine was safe, without side-effects, and offered reasonable protection after one dose. It could thus play an important role in increasing enrollment into immunization programs.     

Sensitivity of oral tissues to herpes simplex virus--in vitro

Epithelial and fibroblast cells from the human gingival sulcus area were cultivated in vitro, and their sensitivity to the herpes simplex virus (HSV) was studied. Fibroblasts were sensitive to HSV infection and supported virus multiplication as evidenced by nuclear inclusion bodies and a cytopathogenic effect. Epithelial cells which were primarily devoid of HSV antigens were infected with HSV as demonstrated by positive immunofluorescent staining and damage to the cells at a later stage. Epithelial cells that were found to harbor HSV antigens upon removal from the patients prior to infection in vitro, maintained these antigens throughout the period of in vitro cultivation. The sensitivity of both epithelial cells and fibroblasts from the gingival sulcus area to HSV infection in vitro is significant for the understanding of the role of these tissues as a primary site of infection and as a possible reservoir for the latent virus between recurrences.     

The humoral immune response of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients to AS03-adjuvanted A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)v-like virus vaccine during the 2009 pandemic

We evaluated the formation of hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) antibodies in response to vaccination of 55 allogeneic and 23 autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients with 3.75 μg inactivated influenza A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)v-like virus adjuvanted with AS03, given towards the end of the 2009 influenza pandemic. The 78 HSCT recipients, aged 11-72 (median 50) years, were vaccinated 1-290 (median 27) months post-HSCT. Of the 55 allogeneic HSCT recipients, 50.9% received reduced intensity conditioning, 74.5% had a sibling donor, 67.2% had active graft-versus-host disease and 43.6% were on steroid therapy. At baseline, 14/78 (17.9%) had HI titers ≥1:40. Blood samples of 77 patients were available post-1st vaccination; of these, 34 (44.2%) patients had HI titers ≥1:40. Blood samples of 43 patients were available post-2nd vaccination; of these, 21 (48.8%) had HI titers ≥1:40. There was a significant increase in HI titers ≥1:40 from baseline to both post-1st and 2nd vaccinations (p < 0.001 each), and also from 1st to 2nd vaccination (p = 0.008). In seronegative (HI titers <1:10) patients, whose sera were available before, after one dose, and after 2 doses of vaccine, seroconversion (to ≥1:40) occurred in 4/24 (16.7%) after 1-dose and in a total of 10/24 (41.7%) after 2-dose vaccination (p = 0.031). Logistic regression analysis revealed that ≥1:40 HI titers were significantly associated with higher lymphocyte counts and higher HI baseline titers and, in allogeneic HSCT, with having a sibling donor and higher baseline titers. In conclusion, 2-dose vaccination with AS03-adjuvanted vaccine containing 3.75 μg antigen resulted in a statistically significant, yet limited, serological response. Therefore, additional precautions should be taken during influenza outbreaks.     

Local and systemic immune response in community-dwelling elderly after intranasal or intramuscular immunization with inactivated influenza vaccine

Intramuscular (IM) influenza vaccines are about 50% effective in preventing clinical illness among the elderly and their effectiveness in eliciting mucosal response may be even lower. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the immunological effect of a novel inactivated intranasal (IN) trivalent whole influenza virus vaccine among community-dwelling elderly. Sixty-one subjects were vaccinated with two doses of an IN vaccine and a control group of 31 subjects was vaccinated with a commercial IM vaccine. Viral strains in the 1997/8 vaccine used were A/Nanchang/933/95(H3N2), A/Johannesburg/82/96(H1N1) and B/Harbin/7/94. Serum IgG and nasal IgA were determined by HI and ELISA, respectively. Only a few minor local adverse events were reported after vaccination. Seroconversion for the three antigens tested was higher after IM vaccination, although not statistically significant. Local antibody response to the three antigens tested was detected in 50-53% and 19-26% of IN and IM immunized subjects, respectively. The IN vaccine tested was significantly more effective than the IM vaccine in inducing mucosal IgA response. This may prevent influenza at its early stages and thus contribute to the reduction of complications in the elderly.     

High molecular weight constituents of cranberry interfere with influenza virus neuraminidase activity in vitro

Cranberry juice contains high molecular weight non-dialyzable material (NDM) which was found to inhibit hemagglutination induced by the influenza virus (IV) as well as to neutralize the cytotoxicity of IV in cell cultures. Because influenza virus surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) are involved in viral replication and in the infectious process, we sought in the present study to examine the effect of NDM on neuraminidases which are the target of most anti-influenza drugs today. NDM inhibited the NA enzymatic activity of influenza A and B strains as well as that of Streptococcus pneumoniae. This finding is of importance considering the emergence of influenza isolates resistant to antiviral drugs, reaching 90 % in some places. The anti-NA activity of NDM, evaluated by the MUNANA method and expressed as the concentration required for 50 % inhibition (IC??), was most potent against N1 (IC??, 192 μg/mL), less active against BN and N2 (IC??, 509 μg/mL and 1128 μg/mL, respectively), and moderately active against Streptococcus pneumoniae NA (IC??, 594 μg/mL). The in vitro findings of the present study suggest that cranberry constituents may have a therapeutic potential against both A and B influenza virus infections and might also interfere with the development of secondary bacterial complications.