OBJECTIVES Chronic Helicobacter pylori infection has been associated with ischaemic heart disease although the mechanism by which it mediates this effect remains unclear. The objective was to determine whether it is also a risk factor for ischaemic cerebrovascular disease METHODS A total of 238 patients and 119 controls were studied. Patients were characterised into stroke subtypes based on p...

To determine if hepatitis C virus seropositivity and active hepatitis B virus infection in HIV-positive patients vary with patients' geographic origins, we studied co-infections in HIV-seropositive adults. Active hepatitis B infection was more prevalent in persons from Africa, and hepatitis C seropositivity was more common in persons from eastern Europe.

Antibodies to West Nile virus were detected in 94 of 1,784 Illinois birds during 2002. Captive and urban birds had higher seropositivity than did birds from natural areas, and northern and central Illinois birds' seropositivity was greater than that from birds from the southern sites. Adult and hatch-year exposure rates did not differ significantly.

INTRODUCTION Chagas disease is the most important parasitic disease in El Salvador and Latin America. The disease has two phases: acute and chronic, with an intermediate unspecified phase. The chronic phase develops in 30% of infected persons and its most common manifestation is cardiac disease. This study aimed to obtain reference data for the prevalence of T. cruzi seropositivity in a cohort ...

BACKGROUND Chagas disease is an important health problem in Latin America due to its incapacitating effects and associated mortality. Studies on seropositivity for Trypanosoma cruzi in Mexican dogs have demonstrated a direct correlation between seropositivity in humans and dogs, which can act as sentinels for the disease in this region. The objective of this study was to determine the seroposit...

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) in sheep from Nevşehir Province in Turkey. METHODS Blood samples were taken from 180 sheep aged between 1 and 7 years, which were randomly selected from seven different study sites in Nevşehir Province. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies to T. gond...

BACKGROUND/AIMS This study determined the prevalence and determinants of seropositivity for rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody, and anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV) antibody in unaffected first-degree relatives (FDRs) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. METHODS A total of 337 subjects (135 with RA and 202 FDRs) were enrolled in this ...

Serum samples from hunters (n = 440), their hunting dogs (n = 448), and hunters without dog ownership (n = 53) were collected in The Netherlands at hunting dog trials and were tested for antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi by a whole-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Additionally, 75 healthy pet dogs were tested. The results of this study indicate that the seroprevalence among hunting...

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV),Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and C virus (HCV) are known to be transmitted through blood and blood products. Many studies have been performed to determine relationship between infectious diseases and blood groups. This study aims to detect the relationship between the HIV, HBV and HCV infections with ABO and Rh D blood groups in Haryana. After blood donation, blood...