SUMMARYThe fluorescent antibody technique was used for the identification of specific cytomegalovirus IgM in the sera of twenty-four of 1065 unmarried pregnant women. Seventeen of them were followed to term and five infected infants were identified. Two other infants had CMV IgM in neonatal serum samples but virus excretion was not demonstrated. The congenital infection rate in this study was 5-3 per 1000 births by virus excretion and 7'9 per 1000 if cases with specific IgM are included; from previous studies a rate of 8*8 per 1000 was expected. The reasons for the lack of relationship between specific IgM in the mothers' serum and infected babies is discussed.

SUMMARYNecropsy blood from cases diagnosed as dying from influenza A was examined for specific antibody in the IgG, IgA and IgM fractions and a specific diagnosis of recent infection was made if either 1gM or IgA antibody and low titres of IgG antibody were found. By these criteria a diagnostic rate of 77 % was found in those cases from whom no virus was isolated. The use of infected cell monolayers grown on polytetrafluoroethylene-coated slides gave a simple method of carrying out these antibody assays, and the use of necropsy blood did not require any special methods of transport of specimens to the virus laboratory.

A computerized micro-ELISA system is described which features rapid and simple procedures for sample storage and transfer, plate washing and calculation of results. Calculations are performed by a Commodore Pet desk computer interfaced with a Titertek Multiskan micro-ELISA plate reader. Up to 1200 analyses per day can be performed by one person. Its application to the measurement of total immunoglobulin isotype and class specific antibody to parainfluenza type 1 (Sendai virus) in mice is described.

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