Transfusion-transmitted infections

Although the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections today is lower than ever, the supply of safe blood products remains subject to contamination with known and yet to be identified human pathogens. Only continuous improvement and implementation of donor selection, sensitive screening tests and effective inactivation procedures can ensure the elimination, or at least reduction, of the risk of acquiring transfusion transmitted infections. In addition, ongoing education and up-to-date information regarding infectious agents that are potentially transmitted via blood components is necessary to promote the reporting of adverse events, an important component of transfusion transmitted disease surveillance. Thus, the collaboration of all parties involved in transfusion medicine, including national haemovigilance systems, is crucial for protecting a secure blood product supply from known and emerging blood-borne pathogens

Immune response in preleukemic mice.

Humoral and cellular immunity was assessed serially in preleukemic AKR mice and Gross virus-injected C3H/HeJ mice over a period of 10 to 12 months. Quantitative gamma globulin, hemagglutinin and hemolysin titers after immunization with sheep red blood cells, and macrophage-migration inhibition were determined. Normal production of gamma globulins as well as humoral antibodies was found in both of these experimental groups of mice, whereas macrophage-migration inhibition, which is believed to be a correlate of cellular immunity, appeared to be abnormal throughout the life of these animals, which were destined to develop a high incidence of lymphoma. Some aspects of this apparent dissociation between humoral and cellular immune response are discussed with regard to the mouse virus lymphoma system, primarily involving the thymus, which was used in these studies

Das Ausmass der transfusionsassoziierten HIV-Infektionen in der Schweiz bis 1994: eine aktualisierte Schätzung

OBJECTIVE: The first report on transfusion-associated HIV infections was published in the USA in 1982. The first case reports in Switzerland were published in 1986. So far there has never been a methodologically sound answer to the question of how many persons were infected with HIV by receiving transfusions in Switzerland before the introduction of universal HIV blood donor screening. METHODS: The following available data sources were analyzed simultaneously: firstly, the results of the look-back study conducted in 1993, secondly, the reports of HIV infections and AIDS cases in the national surveillance system, and, thirdly, the claims for compensation for HIV-infected transfusion recipients and hemophiliacs. Two methodologically different and independent estimates were obtained. Firstly, the coverage of the look-back study was estimated, which made it possible to calculate the total number of documentable transfusion-associated HIV infections in Switzerland. Secondly, matching was performed on the cases in the look-back study and the reports in the national surveillance system. Applying formulas of capture-recapture designs provided a second estimate of the total number of documentable transfusion-associated HIV infections. The claims for compensation were used to corroborate the estimates obtained. RESULTS: The two methods produced almost identical figures which were corroborated by the number of claims for compensation. It is therefore estimated that 80 to 100 persons in Switzerland may have been diagnosed as having HIV infection because of transfusions in Switzerland in the years after 1980. The last five known infections occurred in 1986 (four) and, after termination of the look-back study, in 1994 (one). However, the estimate of 80 to 100 does not include individuals who were infected before 1986 and died soon--within weeks or a few months--after the transfusion without diagnosis of HIV infection being possible. CONCLUSION: This estimate of the total number of transfusion-associated HIV infections in Switzerland is approximately half earlier published ones. In addition, the present study will probably reduce the remaining uncertainties about the size of these iatrogenic HIV infections in the 1980s

Origine e Sviluppo dei Cromoplasti nei Frutti di Zucca Americana ( Cucurbita Pepo

RIASSUNTOIndagini compiute al microscopio ottico e a quello elettronico sulle cellule delle parti piu esterne dei frutti di Zucca americana (Cucurbita pepo cv. Small Sugar) hanno permesso di stabilire che in tali zone si ha una intensa comparsa di cromoplasti derivanti sia dalla trasformazione di plastidi verdi, sia per evoluzione di plastidi molto giovani, precocemente differenziati in cromoplasti. Nella metamorfosi da cloroplasti a cromoplasti accanto a una progressiva riduzione di formazioni scure (globuli osmiofili) e di vescicole apparentemente vuote si nota la comparsa di uno o piu corpi provescicolari. Solo negli stadi piu avanzati di maturazione del frutto si notano in queste porzioni delle formazioni solide.Nei cromoplasti derivati da plastidi giovanili predominano, invece, per numero ed estensione i globuli osmiofili. La differente organizzazione strutturale e origine dei cromoplasti di queste parti e quelle dei cromoplasti di altre parti dello stesso frutto, precedentemente esaminate, sembrano ..

[Transfusion-associated LAV/HTLV-III infections in Switzerland. Report of 2 cases]

Two patients developed signs of LAV/HTLV-III infection one and two years respectively after a blood transfusion. The leading symptom in one patient was generalized lymphadenopathy, while the other patient presented with Candida stomatitis. In both cases, blood transfusions administered in 1983 were found to be the only possible source of infection; one blood donor of each patient was anti-LAV/HTLV-III positive. Family members and sexual partners of the two were negative for antibodies against LAV/HTLV-III. Our findings document the first two cases of LAV/HTLV-III associated disease most probably related to blood transfusions in Switzerland