Immunization experiments in guinea-pigs with high egg passage Flury virus gave the following results:

1. Intracerebral inoculation of the vaccine protects against subsequent intracerebral or peripheral challenge with fixed virus.

2. Intramuscular administration results in the development of a good immunity status to peripheral challenge.

3. Intramuscular or intravenous inoculation of the vaccine fails to protect against intracerebral challenge.

We estimated the number of people unaware of their human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in our province, Pavia (population 540 000) in Lombardy, Italy, by means of anonymous unlinked testing of 10 044 serum/plasma samples residual from clinical analyses at the outpatient clinic of Policlinico San Matteo in 2014 and 2015. Ethical and legal approval was obtained prior to study start. Samples were irreversibly anonymised, only retaining gender and 5-year age class. Five sample pools were tested for HIV using LIAISON® XL MUREX HIV Ab/Ag (DiaSorin, Saluggia, Italy). If the pool tested positive, individual samples underwent confirmatory tests, Innotest HIV Antigen mAb (Fujirebio Europe, Gent, Belgium) and HIV BLOT 2·2 (MP Diagnostics, Singapore). Among the 10 044 samples processed, eight were confirmed positive (0·08%, 95% confidence interval 0·03–0·16%), all were males and age was >50 in 3 (37·5%). If projected to the entire population of the Pavia province, this would result in approximately 1000 people unaware of their HIV infection, with age older than expected. In Italy, HIV testing is voluntary, universally free-of-charge and (upon request) anonymous. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that it is suboptimally employed, and that new strategies and population-level actions will be needed to achieve better implementation of HIV testing and HIV control in our province.

The objective of this study was to determine the optimal number of respiratory samples per outbreak to be tested for institutional respiratory outbreaks in Ontario. We reviewed respiratory samples tested for respiratory viruses by multiplex PCR as part of outbreak investigations. We documented outbreaks that were positive for any respiratory viruses and for influenza alone. At least one virus was detected in 1454 (85·2%) outbreaks. The ability to detect influenza or any respiratory virus increased as the number of samples tested increased. When analysed by chronological order of when samples were received at the laboratory, percent positivity of outbreaks testing positive for any respiratory virus including influenza increased with the number of samples tested up to the ninth sample, with minimal benefit beyond the fourth sample tested. Testing up to four respiratory samples per outbreak was sufficient to detect viral organisms and resulted in significant savings for outbreak investigations.

Following the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, early outbreak response relied on behavioural interventions. In the USA, local governments implemented restrictions aimed at reducing movements and contacts to limit viral transmission. In Pennsylvania, restrictions closed schools and businesses in the spring of 2020 and interventions eased later through the summer. Here we use passive monitoring of vehicular traffic volume and mobile device-derived visits to points of interest as proxies for movements and contacts in a rural Pennsylvania county. Rural areas have limited health care resources, which magnifies the importance of disease prevention. These data show the lowest levels of movement occurred during the strictest phase of restrictions, indicating high levels of compliance with behavioural intervention. We find that increases in movement correlated with increases in reported SARS-CoV-2 cases 9–18 days later. The methodology used in this study can be adapted to inform outbreak management strategies for other locations and future outbreaks that use behavioural interventions to reduce pathogen transmission.

The following investigation was undertaken during November and December 1911 with the object of determining the source of infection in a series of cases of anthrax which occurred in the same yarn mill. The investigation resulted in proving that anthrax spores were present in a variety of East India wool and in the yarn manufactured therefrom.

Enteric fever occurs in both temperate and tropical countries, and its spread depends mainly on the sanitary conditions prevailing, on the degree of purity of the drinking water, particularly in the country districts where no general water supplies exist, and on the degree of efficiency of the sewage disposal systems.

The evaporation rates of small particles in aerosols of the following substances have been measured: 4−n−hexyl-1:3-resorcinol, 1, 1, 1-trichloro-2, 2−di (p−chlorphenyl)ethane (‘DDT’), 1, 1, 1−trichloro-2-p−chlorphenyl-2-o−chlorphenyl-ethane (‘op′-DDT’), γ-hexachloro-cyclo-hexane (‘BHC’, ‘Lindane’, ‘Gammexane’), ‘Dieldrin’ and azobenzene.

The slit ultra-microscope method was used; a consideration of the experimental conditions leads to the conclusion that the results are of reliable quantitative significance.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is a notifiable disease in Ireland, with national coverage of clinical and laboratory surveillance. In December 2020, a cluster of 11 HAV cases among the Irish Traveller community was detected. The outbreak investigation identified 61 total HAV cases from September 2020 to November 2021. Sequenced isolates were sub-genotype IA with identical genome sequence. Case-patients were predominantly aged under 18 (77%), hospitalised (46%) and lived on communal residential sites. Mass onsite HAV vaccination was employed following failure of initial ring vaccination to contain the outbreak. This is the largest outbreak of HAV described in Ireland, involving spillover to the UK and Netherlands. We recommend mass HAV vaccination and tailored communication for outbreak control in migratory subpopulations.

Around 0.4% of pregnant women in England have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and need services to prevent vertical transmission. In this national audit, sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory information was requested from all maternity units in England for hepatitis B surface antigen-positive women initiating antenatal care in 2014. We describe these women's characteristics and indicators of access to/uptake of healthcare. Of 2542 pregnancies in 2538 women, median maternal age was 31 [IQR 27, 35] years, 94% (1986/2109) were non-UK born (25% (228/923) having arrived into the UK <2 years previously) and 32% (794/2473) had ⩾2 previous live births. In 39%, English levels were basic/less than basic. Antenatal care was initiated at median 11.3 [IQR 9.6, 14] gestation weeks, and ‘late’ (⩾20 weeks) in 10% (251/2491). In 70% (1783/2533) of pregnancies, HBV had been previously diagnosed and 11.8% (288/2450) had ⩾1 marker of higher infectivity. Missed specialist appointments were reported in 18% (426/2339). Late antenatal care and/or missed specialist appointments were more common in pregnancies among women lacking basic English, arriving in the UK ⩽2 years previously, newly HBV diagnosed, aged <25 years and/or with ⩾2 previous live births. We show overlapping groups of pregnant women with chronic HBV vulnerable to delayed or incomplete care.

Good fixation of complement was obtained with the infective virus fraction of the Mahoney Type 1 poliomyelitis virus which had been adapted to suckling mice. The presence of a soluble antigen, specific to Type 1 virus, was also demonstrated but was small in amount.

The infective virus fraction of the suckling mouse adapted MEF1 Type 2 poliomyelitis virus produced as good fixation of complement as did Type 1, but the fixation of complement by the MEF1 soluble antigen was far greater than that obtained with the Mahoney strain.

The author would like to thank Prof. A. Kipps for his interest and encouragement and Miss M. Butchart for her valuable technical assistance. She is also indebted to Dr H. Malherbe of the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation, Johannesburg, for the Type 1 monkey immune serum.

Compared to cervical cancer, little is known about human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven oropharyngeal cancer and their cofactors. Here, we investigated potential associations between Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) with oral HPV and HPV persistence, which are known cofactors in cervical carcinogenesis, and also play a role in HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer. Saliva samples (n = 547) from 312 people were tested for CT and NG and whom had previously been tested for oral HPV infection in a longitudinal study. Eight participants were positive for CT (2.6%) and one for NG (0.3%). Six of these nine participants were also positive for oral HPV in at least one of their samples. We found no significant associations between HPV, CT, or NG infection in the saliva samples analyzed. These preliminary data suggest CT and NG have little influence on oral HPV-positivity and persistence in a general population. However, larger studies focusing on ‘at risk’ population cohorts are necessary to assess potential associations between oral sexually transmissible infections and oral HPV infections, and their outcomes.

The incidence of reported infections of non-typhoid Salmonella is affected by biases inherent to passive laboratory surveillance, whereas analysis of blood sera may provide a less biased alternative to estimate the force of Salmonella transmission in humans. We developed a mathematical model that enabled a back-calculation of the annual seroincidence of Salmonella based on measurements of specific antibodies. The aim of the present study was to determine the seroincidence in two convenience samples from 2012 (Danish blood donors, n = 500, and pregnant women, n = 637) and a community-based sample of healthy individuals from 2006 to 2007 (n = 1780). The lowest antibody levels were measured in the samples from the community cohort and the highest in pregnant women. The annual Salmonella seroincidences were 319 infections/1000 pregnant women [90% credibility interval (CrI) 210–441], 182/1000 in blood donors (90% CrI 85–298) and 77/1000 in the community cohort (90% CrI 45–114). Although the differences between study populations decreased when accounting for different age distributions the estimates depend on the study population. It is important to be aware of this issue and define a certain population under surveillance in order to obtain consistent results in an application of serological measures for public health purposes.

There is limited information on the antibody responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in subjects from developing countries with populations having a high incidence of co-morbidities. Here, we analysed the immunogenicity of homologous schemes using the ChAdOx1-S, Sputnik V, or BNT162b2 vaccines and the effect of a booster dose with ChAdOx1-S in middle-aged adults who were seropositive or seronegative to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein before vaccination. The study was conducted post-vaccination with a follow-up of 4 months for antibody titre using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and pseudovirus (PV) neutralization assays (PNAs). All three vaccines elicited a superior IgG anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) and neutralization response against the Alpha and Delta variants when administered to individuals with a previous infection by SARS-CoV-2. The booster dose spiked the neutralization activity among individuals with and without a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. The ChAdOx1-S vaccine induced weaker antibody responses in infection-naive subjects. A follow-up of 4 months post-vaccination showed a drop in antibody titre, with about 20% of the infection-naive and 100% of SARS-CoV-2 pre-exposed participants with detectable neutralization capacity against Alpha pseudovirus (Alpha-PV) and Delta PV (Delta-PV). Our observations support the use of different vaccines in a country with high seroprevalence at the vaccination time.

In a previous paper (Twort, Baker, Finn & Powell, 1940) we were able to show that the bactericidal properties of phenolic -aerosols were correlated with their physical characters, though our experiments were not sufficiently numerous or varied to enable us to estimate separately the effect of the different factors operative. Here we propose to describe similar tests which we have carried out on the germicidal smokes used by Twort & Baker (1940, 1941), namely, those produced by smouldering cardboard impregnated with potassium nitrate, and by dropping incense and Peru balsam on to hot metal surfaces. There were also used mixtures obtained by distilling Peru balsam under reduced pressure: fraction I, b. p. 109–110° C; fraction II, b. p. 120–138° C; fraction III, bp 148–155° C, at 3 mm. Hg, and the residue from this operation.

Studies on the phenol coefficient after the cover-slip method were made on some disinfectants with the addition of different amounts of various organic materials. The results show that the phenol coefficient varies with the nature and amount of the different organic substances added to the disinfectant in question.

It has been shown that certain strains of Salmonella grown in nutrient broth containing sulphite and bismuth, develop variants that are incapable of reducing sulphite to sulphides in the media of Wilson & Blair.

The altered strains showed no alterations in their antigenic and biochemical characters.

The use of the hypergeometric distribution in calculations of sample volumes for safety testing is criticized. Alternative interpretations of the concept of ‘infective ml. doses’ lead to slightly different solutions, the simplest of which, involving the exponential function, is recommended for general use.

The British Standard Technique for Determining the Rideal-Walker Coefficient of Disinfectants (no. 541—1934), in laying down the procedure to be adopted with regard to the test typhoid bacillus culture, recommends that a fresh culture be obtained each month from the National Collection of Type Cultures. In all probability this is the best procedure; it does, however, sometimes happen that a test is required urgently when a fresh culture is not available. The following notes upon our own experience in maintaining cultures may therefore be of some interest. It is our practice to obtain fresh cultures whenever we are called upon to carry out other than routine tests unless a recent one has been obtained, and many of these cultures have now been running for a number of years. On the arrival of the culture from the N.C.T.C. it is subcultured on to an agar slope and “incubated” at room temperature in a dark cupboard. 2% agar is used in a broth prepared by the tryptic digestion of ox heart. Further subcultures are made at intervals of one month. It is our usual practice to start a series of broth cultures from such slopes not less than 14 days after sowing.

Knowing the burden of severe disease caused by influenza is essential for disease risk communication, to understand the true impact of vaccination programmes and to guide public health and disease control measures. We estimated the number of influenza-attributable hospitalisations in Spain during the 2010–2011 to 2019–2020 seasons – based on the hospitalisations due to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in Spain using the hospital discharge database and virological influenza information from the Spanish Influenza Sentinel Surveillance System (SISSS). The weekly numbers of influenza-attributable hospitalisations were calculated by multiplying the weekly SARI hospitalisations by the weekly influenza virus positivity, obtained from the SISSS in each season, stratified by age group and sex. The influenza-related hospitalisation burden is age-specific and varies significantly by influenza season. People aged 65 and over yielded the highest average influenza-attributable hospitalisation rates per season (615.6 per 100,000), followed by children aged under 5 (251.2 per 100,000). These results provide an essential contribution to influenza control and to improving existing vaccination programmes, as well as to the optimisation and planning of health resources and policies.