Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic virus from camels causing significant mortality and morbidity in humans in the Arabian Peninsula. The epidemiology of the virus remains poorly understood, and while case-based and seroepidemiological studies have been employed extensively throughout the epidemic, viral sequence data have not been utilised to their full potent...

Trichinellosis is a serious foodborne zoonotic disease. It is an important threat to public health in both developing and developed countries. Human infections are strongly associated with consuming undercooked meat containing infective Trichinella larvae. The development of serological tools has enabled seroepidemiological studies and contributed to our knowledge on the importance of this para...

The purpose of this review was to summarize the epidemiology, clinical pictures, and virology of enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection. An epidemiological study in Taiwan revealed that the reported incidence of mild cases of hand-footmouth disease/herpangina (HFMD/HA) varied from year to year; seasonal variations in incidence were observed, with an incidence peak observed during the summer season. Th...

Recently, three novel human polyomaviruses KIPyV, WUPyV and MCPyV were uncovered in biological specimens of patients with different underlying clinical conditions. Although it is too early to draw firm conclusions on their role in human pathology, this finding has revitalized the scientific debate on the Polyomaviridae family and their relation to human disease. Seroepidemiological studies show...

Chlamydia pneumoniae, an obligate intracellular pathogen, is known as a leading cause of respiratory tract infections and, in the last two decades, has been widely associated with atherosclerosis by seroepidemiological studies, and direct detection of the microorganism within atheroma. C. pneumoniae is presumed to play a role in atherosclerosis for its ability to disseminate via peripheral bloo...

Introduction Inhalation of hantavirus-contaminated aerosol of rodents’ excreta can cause in humans hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Eurasia and Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the Americas. In Greece, 1-5 cases are being diagnosed annually, mainly in the northern and western part. After the recent diagnosis of a hantavirus infection in Achaia prefecture (Peloponesse), a seroepid...

A seroepidemiological survey in coastal Croatia detected antibodies reactive with Rickettsia conorii in 4.2% of sera by immunofluorescence assay and in 5.0% of sera by enzyme immunoassay. Western immunoblotting demonstrated antibodies to the 120-kDa surface protein in all 20 positive serum samples examined and to rickettsial lipopolysaccharide in 3 of these serum samples. Humans in this area ar...

The epidemiology of rubella in Thailand was studied by measuring the HI antibodies in 2,798 human serum samples collected in 1977 and from 1982 through 1986. In the study of the Meo and Karen hill tribes and employees of the Raming Tea Plantation living in high land in 1977, high antibody-negative rates against rubella were observed among young children aged 14 or less, so that the antibody was...

In order to determine a practically useful quantitative assay method for tetanus antibody in a large-scale seroepidemiological study, a method combining an in-house ELISA with a particle agglutination test (KPA) was evaluated in comparison with the in vivo mouse neutralization test. Serum samples with mouse neutralization antibody titers 0.01 IU/ml (the minimum protective level) or below showed...