An outbreak of respiratory disease which spread to all cattle aged less than 7 years in two farms, in the village of Avusy (canton of Geneva), is briefly described. The course of the disease was more severe in older animals, which showed frequently symptoms of bronchopneumonia, than in younger ones. The disease lasted from 3 to 10 days. No deaths were reported.A virus antigenically related to the human respiratory syncytial viruses was isolated from the conjunctivo-nasal specimens of one animal in each farm. Evidence of the bovine origin of both strains was brought by the sero-conversions displayed by the cattle under study in neutralization and complement fixation tests and by some biological traits of the virus as well.

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The effect of aging on human humoral immunity was investigated by studying in vivo the relationship between influenza specific antibody responses and nonspecific vaccine-induced autoantibody responses in 32 independent, well-nourished older women volunteers (mean age 86 yr, range 74-97) and 23 young women volunteers (mean age 34 yr, range 23-46). Anti-influenza AITaiwanlll86(HlNl) antibody liters were determined by a hemagglutination inhibition test (Hi-test), and serum anti-dsDNA antibodies were measured by ELISA prior to, 15, and 30 days after influenza vaccination. The mean postvaccination fold increase (FI) of the anti-influenza antibody response was significantly lower in elderly individuals as compared to younger individuals. In contrast, the mean anti-dsDNA autoantibody level measured 30 days after vaccination was significantly increased in older volunteers as compared to younger ones. There was a significant negative correlation between the level of the FI of the anti-influenza antibodyresponse and the anti-dsDNA antibody response (r = -.441, p < .01). Our results suggest that the altered influenza specific antibody response was associated with an age-related increase in autoimmunity in aging individuals.

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