Lee M. Kelley

Survival of rotavirus SA-11 on vegetables

Survival of rotavirus on lettuce, radishes, and carrots was studied to evaluate the potential of rotavirus transmission by vegetables irrigated with wastewater. The vegetables were contaminated with rotavirus SA-11 and stored at 4°C and room temperature in covered and uncovered containers to simulate post harvest conditions. Virus decay rates were greater on radishes and carrots than lettuce. Decay rates of rotavirus on lettuce, radish, and carrot ranged from −0·057 to −0·479 (log10 pfu/day). Rotavirus SA-11 survived on lettuce, radish, and carrot for 25 to 30 days at 4°C but at room temperature survival was very different for the various vegetables varying from 5 to 25 days. Greatest survival was always observed on the lettuce. These data suggest that rotaviruses can survive long enough on contaminated vegetables as to be transmitted by this vehicle.

A survey of dermatophytes from human patients in the United States from 1985 to 1987

A survey of dermatophytes isolated from patients seeking medical advice was made from 1985 to 1987 in the United States. The survey included 54 locations with data from 45 cities and one state. Listing of the isolated dermatophytes and the frequency given by percentage of the total follows: Trichophyton rubrum 54.8%, T. tonsurans 31.3%, T. mentagrophytes 6.0%, Microsporum canis 4.0%, Epidermophyton floccosum 2.0%, M. gypseum 0.6%, and T. verrucosum 0.2%. Out of a total of 14,696 isolates M. audouinii was cultured 13 times, T. violaceum 12 times, M. nanum 6 times, T. terrestre 4 times, and T. soudanense twice. Single isolations were made of M.fulvum, M. ferrugineum and T. schoenleinii.Collection of dermatophyte data in Tucson, Arizona, began in 1966. In 1987, the first case of tinea capitis caused by T. tonsurans was observed. Other isolates of this organism as the cause of tinea capitis were made in this city during that year. These infections were in black children. With the recent growth of Tucson, the percentage of blacks in the population increased and this pathogen was introduced into the general population.

A survey of dermatophytes isolated from human patients in the United States from 1982 to 1984

A survey of dermatophytes isolated from patients seeking medical advice was made from 1982 to 1984 in the United States. The survey included 59 locations with data from 49 cities and one state. Listing of the isolated dermatophytes and the frequency given by percentage of total follows: Trichophyton rubrum 46.8%, T. tonsurans 33.3%, T. mentagrophytes 10.1%, Microsporum canis 4.5%, Epidermophyton floccosum 3,5%, M. gypseum and T. verrucosum both 0.7%, M. audouinii and T. terrestre both 0.1%, and T. violaceum 0.06%. No isolations of M. ferrugineum or T. schoenleinii were reported.Temporal increases were observed for frequencies of T. mentagrophytes, T. tonsurans and M. canis, and decreases occurred for frequencies of E. floccosum and T. rubrum when the data from this survey were compared by the goodness of fit test to data of the 1979 to 1981 survey. The percent of dermatophyte isolations identified as T. tonsurans correlated significantly with the percentage of blacks in cities of 100000 or more people.

Correlation between allergy and persistent Epstein-Barr virus infections in chronic-active Epstein-Barr virus-infected patients.

Forty-six anti-Epstein Barr nuclear antigen-positive allergic patients, 11 of whom having clinical and laboratory evidence of chronic-active Epstein-Barr virus (CA-EBV) infections, were characterized by EBV serology, percentages of T cells, B cells, and IgE+ cells, serum levels of IgE, and allergen-induced responsiveness of lymphocytes. Results demonstrated patients with CA-EBV have significantly increased responsiveness toward specific allergens, responses toward greater numbers of allergens, numbers of IgE+ T and B cells, and levels of background DNA activity in nonstimulated lymphocytes than do subjects who suffer from allergies in the absence of the CA-EBV syndrome. Further comparison between subjects with laboratory-determined mild and moderate allergy and those with CA-EBV demonstrated a progressive increase in the serum levels of IgE as the degree of allergy increased, no difference in concentrations of T and B cells, and titers of anti-viral capsid antigen and anti-early antigen to be significantly greater in patients with CA-EBV. Statistical analysis demonstrated that patients with CA-EBV could be separated from subjects with allergies by metabolic and immunologic variables. The data suggested that allergen-induced responses may contribute to the CA-EBV syndrome.

Specific allergen-induced Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen-positive B cells from patients with chronic-active Epstein-Barr virus infections

Enriched B cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with chronic-active Epstein-Barr virus (CA-EBV) infections and subjects with mild and moderate allergies were cultured in vitro with specific allergens known to cause allergic reactions. A significant increase in Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen+ cells occurred only in the B cells obtained from patients with CA-EBV when cells were stimulated with the specific antigen. Results indicate an association between EBV-transformed cells and B cells with idiotypic expressions and may help to explain the association between CA-EBV and allergy in these patients.

Development of a Method for Recovery of Rotavirus from the Surface of Vegetables

Rotaviruses cause waterborne disease outbreaks of gastroenteritis from sewage contaminated water, but methods have not been available to assess the potential for transmission of rotavirus by uncooked foods. A method was developed for recovery of rotavirus from the surface of vegetables. The simian rotavirus SA-11, used as a model for the human rotavirus, was adsorbed onto lettuce and the effects of various eluents tested for its recovery. The maximum recovery of rotavirus occurred with a solution of 3% beef extract at pH 8.0 after 5 min of exposure. Longer exposure times did not enhance virus recovery. Recovery of rotavirus and poliovirus type 1 (LSC) averaged 80 and 65%, respectively. Recovery of rotavirus from non-leafy vegetables was lower, averaging 44% for celery, carrot and radish. This method should prove useful for assessing the occurrence and survival of rotavirus on uncooked foods.

Use of dyes and proteins as indicators of virus adsorption to soils

Abstract Outbreaks of viral diseases have been associated with contamination of ground water sources by viral migration from septic tanks. A better understanding of virus adsorption to soils might help elucidate the possible mechanism of subsurface virus migration and ultimate contamination of ground water sources. The present investigation sought a simple test that could predict virus adsorption to soils. Two dyes, methylene blue (positively charged) and amaranth (negatively charged), and three proteins, ferritin ( p 1 4.5), myoglobin ( p 1 7.3) and cytochrome- c ( p 1 9.3), were evaluated as potential indicators of virus adsorption to 20 different soils. The results indicated that no single indicator could predict the adsorption pattern for the different viruses which were evaluated with the soils tested. However, the viruses could be divided into two groups based on their similarities to adsorption of ferritin and cytochrome- c to soils. The other three indicators, myoglobin, methylene blue and amaranth did not significantly correlate with virus adsorption. Therefore, it is proposed that a two protein indicator system could be used to evaluate soils to predict virus adsorption.

Leukocyte stimulation: enhanced phagocytosis of staphylococcus.

Summary Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) from adult human beings showed enhanced phagocytosis of S. aureus following in vitro exposure to staphylococcal antigens. The enhanced phagocytic response by stimulated PMN appeared to be an acquired characteristic. We thank Dr. John Sugg for reading and commenting on this manuscript.

Comparison of gentamicin with other antibacterials and variation of incubation temperature on growth of Trichophyton mentagrophytes from skin scales.

Neutral (Emmons modification) Sabouraud medium, Dermatophyte Test Medium and Littman oxgall agar, with substitutions in type of antibacterial antibiotic, were quantitatively evaluated by colony counts for ability to support growth when suspensions of trypsintreated guinea pig skin scales, infected withTrichophyton mentagrophytes, were used as inocula. Both liquid and powder form of gentamicin sulfate were used separately in place of other routinely used antibacterial antibiotics. Also evaluated were three isolation temperatures. No differences in ability to support growth were noted among media. No difference was noted between the two forms of gentamicin. No data were available on the antibacterial activities of the antibiotics because no bacterial growth was produced on any of the media. Room temperature (24 °–26 °C), 30 °C and 37° C were found to support growth similarly as primary isolation temperatures for this fungus.