A second strain of Streptococcus iniae has been recovered from an Amazon freshwater dolphin (Inia geoffrensis). This isolate differs from the first-described isolate in its ability to produce acid from lactose but not salicin and its inability to hydrolyze esculin. The two isolates share a common cell wall antigen that appears to represent the C polysaccharide grouping antigen of this species. In addition, there are strain-specific antigens associated with each isolate. The second strain has been designated strain BU (= ATCC 29177).We previously (3) characterized a single strain of a new isolate of beta-hemolytic streptococcus obtained from dermal lesions on an Amazon freshwater dolphin, Inia geoffrensis, housed in the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, Calif. Subsequently, a second isolate of beta-hemolytic streptococcus was obtained from a swab of the interior wall of a dermal lesion on another specimen of I. geoffrensis housed at the Niagara Falls Aquarium in New York. This second strain, designated BU, was found to have numerous similarities to the first isolate, the most important being a serologically identical cell wall antigen that appears to represent the C polysaccharide of this species. Differences were noted, however, in some sugar fermentation patterns and biochemical reactions as well as in antigens. The characters of the second isolate of Streptococcus iniae are presented as further evidence that these two organisms represent a new species and serogroup of Streptococcus. MATERIALS AND METHODSBacterial strains. Strain PW, the previously described type strain of S. iniae (3), was compared with the second isolate of this species, strain BU.Methods. Maintenance and growth of cultures, morphological and physiological studies, antibiotic susceptibility testing, determination of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) base composition, preparation of antisera and seroassays, and animal studies were all performed as previously described for strain -PW (3). Corroboration of new serogroup status was carried out by R. R. Facklam, Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga., and R. L. Wood, National Animal Disease Laboratory, Ames, Iowa.Hemolysis testing. Heart infusion agar with 5% defibrinated blood from either guinea pigs, rabbits, humans, or a freshwater dolphin was used to test for hemolysis.Antigen preparation. Seven extraction procedures were used to prepare antigens from freeze-dried whole bacteria. Four procedures, designated HC1, lytic enzyme, autoclave, and formamide extraction, were previously described (3). The three additional extraction procedures were: (i) 2% trypsin in 0.05 M tris(hydroxymethy1)aminomethane (Tris) with 0.0115 M calcium chloride (pH 8); (ii) 2% pepsin in 0.1 M sodium acetate (pH 4); and (iii) 10% trichloroacetic acid. The proteolytic enzyme extractions were performed at 37°C for 24 h, and the trichloroacetic acid extraction was performed at 4°C for 24 h. Cells were removed by centrifugation and the supernatants were brought to pH 7.4.Chemical analysis. The protein contents of the antigen e...

By employing the techniques of immunofluorescence and radioimmunodiffusion using 32 P-labeled poliovirus as the antigen, the immunoglobulin response to poliovirus in serum, nasopharynx, spinal fluid, and in different segments of the central nervous system (CNS) was studied after intramuscular, oral, intranasal, and intrathalamic administration of inactivated (Salk), live attenuated (Sabin), or live virulent (Mahoney) type I poliovirus. Spinal fluid γG antibody was detected after immunization with Sabin or Mahoney virus and intramuscular administration of Salk vaccine. The response in the CNS was characterized by the appearance of γG antibody after oral or intrathalamic administration of Mahoney virus and rarely after intrathalamic inoculation of Sabin vaccine. The antibody activity in CNS was limited to the areas of poliovirus replication. Intrathalamic immunization with Mahoney virus resulted in local γG antibody production in the CNS in the absence of any detectable response in serum. Discrete foci of γG-containing cells were observed in those areas of CNS which contained poliovirus antibody. No immunoglobulin-containing cells or poliovirus antibody was seen in the CNS of monkeys immunized with intramuscularly or orally administered Sabin or Salk vaccine and in sham-immunized control monkeys. It is suggested that the CNS, when stimulated locally with a potent replicating viral antigen, may manifest a specific local antibody response, which is independent of the response in serum.

suMMARY Neutrophil chemotaxis and random migration were studied in 65 healthy children and 18 normal adults. The method used, the leading-front technique, was more accurate and reproducible than the lower surface count method. Chemotaxis in children under 15 years differed from that in adults. This age effect was most pronounced in those less than 6 years, and particularly in those less than 2 years. When investigating chemotaxis in childhood, comparisons with age-matched controls should be made.Many workers'-4 have drawn attention to immaturity of specific and nonspecific immune mechanisms in early childhood. Impaired neutrophil chemotaxis has been demonstrated in early infancy,3 but studies at other ages show conflicting results (P C Wilkinson, 1975, personal communication).7 Furthermore the duration of the dysfunction found in the young infant has not been established. Chemotaxis, the directed migration of cells towards different attractants, is an early and fundamental step in the process of inflammation, while random migration may be another mechanism of cell movement; yet a selective defect of one mechanism, or both, has been reported in different conditions of repeated infection.8 Abnormalities in this function can be due to humoral factors (abnormality in the serum) but are most often the result of an intrinsic abnormality of leucocytes,8 which may be congenital, acquired, or developmental. The cellular aspect ofchemotaxis was investigated and the efficiency of neutrophil polymorphonuclear neutrophil leucocyte migration in infants and young children was compared with that of adults. Materials and methods83 normal subjects were studied. 18 were adults aged between 20 and 62 years (9 men and 9 women) and 65

SUMMARY The cellular and humoral components of the neutrophil chemotactic response were studied in 65 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). An abnormality in both components was found during relapse. In remission the cellular component only was affected. Although less obvious than during relapse the abnormality persisted while all cytotoxic therapy was given, returning to normal several weeks after treatment had been stopped. The absence of significant infection in relapse in this series could be due to the fact that a remission was achieved within 3 weeks in all patients. However, a positive correlation between the migration index and incidence of bacterial infection during remission stressed the importance of impaired neutrophil chemotaxis in ALL.The type of infecting organism has changed with more aggressive treatment of leukaemia, but bacterial infection remains a major problem and cause of death.'-2 Although severe granulocytopenia correlates reasonably well with susceptibility to infection,3-5 some patients may have severe and recurrent infective episodes despite adequate levels of circulating neutrophils. Certain aspects of neutrophil function-namely, phagocytosis and intracellular digestion-have been studied in leukaemia and found to be normal by some workers36 but other workers, using different methods, have shown a distinct decrease in these functions.7-9 Thompson and Williams10 demonstrated that 36 % of leukaemic children in relapse and 25 % of those in remission had depression of the intracellular digestive capacity of neutrophils, and in these children the clinical incidence of infection was greatest. In order to see if an earlier phase in neutrophil function was affected we studied cellular and humoral aspects of neutrophil chemotaxis and random migration. Tests were done in relapse and remission at different stages of the diseases, both on and off treatment. Materials and methods65 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) were studied, the values obtained were compared with those of age matched controls. The cellular aspects of chemotaxis was studied in 52 children. Six were in relapse (4 at diagnosis and 2 at the time of the first relapse, off all treatment); the other 46 children were in remission at the time of the study. 30 were studied on 39 occasions (7 tested more than once) while on maintenance therapy (10 had had treatment for <3 months, 6 for 3-6 months, 8 for 7-12 months, 8 for 13-24 months, and 7 for 25-36 months). All these children were included in MRC treatment trials (UKALL