No abstract

Samples of nasopharyngeal secretions (NPS) obtained from 140 infants and children with acute respiratory disease were examined for the presence of respiratory syncytial (RS) virus by ELISA. An antiserum produced in rabbits against RS-virus polypeptides was used both as the "capture" antibody and as conjugate in a double-antibody sandwich technique. RS virus was detected by ELISA in specimens of NPS obtained from 72 (51%) of the patients. By comparison RS virus was shown to be present in 86 (61%) of the patients when the immunofluorescent antibody (IF) technique was employed. Samples obtained from 78 of the 140 patients were also examined by inoculation into tissue cultures, and RS-virus was isolated from 47 patients. RS virus was detected by ELISA in 37 (79%) and by IF technique in 43 (91%) of these 47 patients. The IF technique was found to be more sensitive than ELISA, especially in patients older than 9 months and for the examination of specimens of NPS containing only a small percentage of RS-virus antigen-positive cells.

A one-year-old, intact female, Yorkshire terrier dog was presented with a six-month history of multi-focal, polycyclic erythematous lesions with epidermal collarette formation at the axillae, the trunk and ventral abdomen. The dog had a history of an inappropriate vaccine administration one day prior to the onset of clinical signs. The histopathology of the lesions revealed apoptosis of keratinocytes in the overlying epidermis, hydropic degeneration and lymphocytic exocytosis. The clinical signs and histopathology of the lesions were compatible with erythema multiforme. The skin lesions resolved after treatment with prednisolone combined with azathio-prine for one month. No recurrence of clinical signs occurred during the follow-up period (four months). This is the first case report of erythema multiforme associated with an accidental subcutaneous injection of a Bordetella bronchiseptica vaccine.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay developed for the demonstration of respiratory syncytial (RS) virus immunoglobulin G antibodies was used for the detection of RS virus in specimens of nasopharyngeal secretions (NPS) obtained from children with acute respiratory disease. Samples of NPS were incubated with a flxed amount of standard serum (human serum antibodies to RS virus) before being added to the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test plate. A decrease in the optical density value determined for this standard serum was seen with the majority of NPS specimens from which RS virus had been isolated in tissue culture. The reliabiity and the specificity of this inhibition test were supported by experiments with purified RS virus and by tests with NPS specimens containing other respiratory viruses.