Genetic and antigenic variability in bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) isolates from Belgium.

&lt;p&gt;This report describes the genetic and antigenic variability of bovine viral diarrhea virus strains isolated in Belgium. Part of the 5&#039; untranslated region and the 5&#039; end of the gp53 (E2) coding sequence were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis showed that most field isolates segregated into genotypes Ib or II. Only one out of 28 field isolates belonged to genotype Ia. Interestingly, some type I strains were equally divergent from types Ia and Ib strains and clustered into additional subtypes within genotype I. Immune sera from young calves experimentally inoculated with field isolates first identified on the basis of their sequences were used in two-way neutralisation experiments. The results clearly differentiated type I from type II strains although some degree of cross-neutralisation was observed. Within type I, the new clusters could not be antigenically differentiated from the more prevalent type Ib strains or from type Ia strain NADL, suggesting that BVDV genotype I is antigenically homogeneous. The isolation of BVDV types I and II strains from cell lines and from a bovine vaccine suggest that molecular epidemiology surveillance is warranted for BVDV.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Determination of reference standards for adrenal steroids excretion in normal prepuberal children

An improved method of gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) for routine estimation of adrenal steroids in urine is presented. It was applied to the exploration of steroid output in 120 normal prepuberal children to both sexes aged 3 mth to 12 yr. Urinary data were compared to plasmatic values of adrenal hormones estimated by radioimmune assays (RIA). Analysis of the relationships between steroids outputs and bone age revealed that the excretion of cortisol catabolites was expressed by a saturation curve whereas that of Δ 4-3 keto androgens catabolites were expressed by geometrical progression curves; urine dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and plasma DHEA-sulfate showed outbreaks of high values beyond 6 yr of age which ruled out all curve fitting attempts. The computation of these relationships allowed to determine the confidence belts of the various regressions which appear as a useful tool to estimate the delayed or accelerated character of adrenal activity in prepuberal childhood. Comparison of the various urinary (GLC) and plasmatic (RIA) parameters enabled us to comment on adrenal puberty.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Genetic and antigenic variability in bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) isolates from Belgium

This report describes the genetic and antigenic variability of bovine viral diarrhea virus strains isolated in Belgium. Part of the 5' untranslated region and the 5' end of the gp53 (E2) coding sequence were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis showed that most field isolates segregated into genotypes Ib or II. Only one out of 28 field isolates belonged to genotype Ia. Interestingly, some type I strains were equally divergent from types Ia and Ib strains and clustered into additional subtypes within genotype I. Immune sera from young calves experimentally inoculated with field isolates first identified on the basis of their sequences were used in two-way neutralisation experiments. The results clearly differentiated type I from type II strains although some degree of cross-neutralisation was observed. Within type I, the new clusters could not be antigenically differentiated from the more prevalent type Ib strains or from type Ia strain NADL, suggesting that BVDV genotype I is antigenically homogeneous. The isolation of BVDV types I and II strains from cell lines and from a bovine vaccine suggest that molecular epidemiology surveillance is warranted for BVDV. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Real-time PCR for the detection of respiratory viruses

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

Les systèmes de signalement des évènements indésirables en médecine

Texte intégral disponible gratuitement ici : http://www.sante.gouv.fr/drees/etude-resultat/er584/er584.pdfDans le domaine médical les systèmes de signalement sont jugés utiles pour identifier, analyser et réduire le risque de survenue d'événements indésirables graves (EIG). Cet article présente l'analyse d'une revue de 193 références auxquelles s'ajoutent les informations issues de contacts directs et de visites in situ, en particulier aux États-Unis et au Royaume-Uni. Ces systèmes ont deux objectifs majeurs : une fonction de veille et d'alerte centralisée des risques et une fonction d'exemplarité locale et de vecteur de changement de la culture de sécurité des professionnels de santé. Les systèmes de signalement se répartissent en trois grandes classes. La classe I regroupe les systèmes passifs reposant sur la déclaration des acteurs médicaux, la classe II les systèmes passifs reposant sur la déclaration des patients et la classe III rassemble les systèmes actifs fondés sur l'analyse de dossiers ou de traces électroniques. Les systèmes de classe I ont un bilan mitigé en raison d'une sous déclaration massive ; quatre raisons de cette sous déclaration ont été identifiées : définition trop floue, protection incertaine, acculturation insuffisante, mauvaise ergonomie des systèmes de signalement. On leur reconnaît cependant l'avantage de contribuer à installer une culture de sécurité, particulièrement pour les systèmes ouverts de déclaration volontaire. Les systèmes alternatifs de classe II et III permettent une analyse plus exacte du risque, et donc un pilotage plus correct des actions à entreprendre. Mais leur maturité est loin d'être acquise. Ils représentent cependant un futur probable pour une véritable évaluation épidémiologique des événements indésirables liés aux soins