The nucleotide sequences of the SH gene and its F gene flanking region were determined over a range of 322 nucleotides for two live vaccines, two vaccine-associated isolates, six wild mumps viruses, and an attenuated mumps virus and compared to other sequences already published. Comparison revealed that the vaccine strains were clearly different from each other and the postvaccination isolates were different from the vaccines used. The viruses were assigned to three known cocirculating viral lineages. The attenuated mumps virus possesses nucleotide sequences identical to those of its progenitor strain.

The hypothesis of a decline in the incidence of hepatitis A infections in Germany in recent decades was confirmed by determining the prevalence of hepatitis A antibody (anti-HAV) in sera collected in 1965 and in 1975 under the same conditions in North Germany. The prevalence of anti-HAV correlated with the year of birth and was independent of the time of serum sampling. The force of infection fell from 0.04 in 1945 to 0.005 in 1965 as judged from a catalytic epidemic model with a sigmoidal decrease.

Urinary excretion of Cytomegalovirus and the presence of serum antibodies against CMV were examined in 79 HIV-1-infected patients at different stages of the disease, as well as in 27 heterosexual and 52 male homosexual controls and correlated to clinical and laboratory results. HIV-1-infected and healthy individuals differed significantly with regard to cutaneous delayed type reactions, absolute numbers of CD4+ cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratios. IgG antibodies against CMV were found in 87% of homosexual and in 52% of heterosexual controls, and in all HIV-1-infected homosexuals. CMV excretion in the urine was exclusively found in HIV-1-infected individuals where the incidence correlated with the CDC-defined disease stage (stage II: 6%, stage III/IV A: 22%, stage IV B/C: 55%). HIV-1-infected patients excreting CMV in the urine also exhibited distinctly decreased numbers of CD4+ cells and significantly decreased CD4+/CD8+ ratios compared to those without CMV viruria.

A newly developed colorimetric method, DNA enzyme immunoassay (DEIA), was applied to the detection of neuraminidase subtypes N1 and N2 of influenza A viruses. Reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction with universal primers were used for genomic amplification of H1N1, H2N2, and H3N2 strains. Following amplification, an aliquot of the PCR product was hybridized to biotinylated DNA sequences (N1/N2 probes) immobilized on microtiter wells. The hybridization event was revealed by monoclonal antibodies to double stranded DNA in a standard ELISA reaction. The assay described here was able to distinguish accurately between the two neuraminidase subtypes of human influenza A viruses. It is a simple and rapid method facilitating the handling of a large number of samples and therefore seems to be easily applicable to diagnostic laboratories.

40 adults with symptomatic HIV-1 infection (AIDS related complex [ARC] WR 2B-4B or AIDS WR 5-6) were randomized into two groups, receiving either 200 mg of an i.v. immunoglobulin preparation (ivIg)/kg body weight every other week or no such treatment. Medical care and antibiotic therapy were comparable in the two groups. Frequency of opportunistic infections, "B"-symptoms, number of T-helper cells, change of disease stage (Walter Reed Classification, WR), delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity, onset and clinical course of Kaposi's sarcoma, neurological manifestations and proportion of patients alive at the end of the observation period were evaluated. After an average observation period of 13.8 months, decreased mortality was observed in ivIg treated patients of WR 5-6 (p less than 0.004). Frequency and microbial spectrum of opportunistic infections, the most frequent cause of death, were not influenced significantly by ivIg treatment. No statistically relevant differences concerning the other parameters were observed. A similar beneficial effect of ivIg in WR 2B-4 patients has not become apparent so far.