This study investigated the association of ongoing West Nile virus (WNV) infections with neutralizing antibody titers in US plasma-derived intravenous immune globulin released during 2003-2008. Titers correlated closely with the prevalence of past WNV infection in blood donors, with 2008 lots indicating a prevalence of 1%.

OBJECTIVE To ascertain whether the membership examination for the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) discriminates against doctors of Indian subcontinent ethnic origin ("Asian doctors"). DESIGN Retrospective analysis of data from five administrations of the MRCGP examination (December 1988-December 1990). SETTING United Kingdom national examination body. SUBJECTS 3686 doctors ...

We investigated West Nile virus (WNV) as a possible disease etiology in persons hospitalized in South Africa. Of 206 specimens tested, 36 had WNV neutralizing antibodies, significantly more than in similar earlier serosurveys. Seven probable acute WNV cases were identified, suggesting WNV may be overlooked as an etiology of severe disease in South Africa.

liable mode of treating cases of snake-bite. In investigations regarding the action of drugs of a complex nature, it frequently occurs that the physiological action of the drug, considered as a whole, differs from its isolated constituents. Thus, while opium is narcotic, thebaia, one of its constituents, is purely excitant, and in doses of one grain causes tetanic spasms (Farquharson). The expe...

The Dynamic Continuous-Area Space-Time (DYCAST) system is a biologically based spatiotemporal model that uses public reports of dead birds to identify areas at high risk for West Nile virus (WNV) transmission to humans. In 2005, during a statewide epidemic of WNV (880 cases), the California Department of Public Health prospectively implemented DYCAST over 32,517 km2 in California. Daily risk ma...

West Nile (WN) virus was identified in the Western Hemisphere in 1999. Along with human encephalitis cases, 20 equine cases of WN virus were detected in 1999 and 23 equine cases in 2000 in New York. During both years, the equine cases occurred after human cases in New York had been identified.

The recent outbreaks of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in the northeastern United States and other regions of the world have made it essential to develop efficient, sensitive, and rapid protocols for virus surveillance. Laboratory testing is the backbone of any surveillance program. Protocols to detect the presence of WNV have been refined since 1999 for sensitivity, speed, efficiency, and spe...

The wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) is a migratory species in the western Mediterranean wintering in the Gulf of Guinea region, West Africa. In autumn and spring, this species, along with the populations breeding in Ireland and Britain, uses the Italian peninsula as its main axis of migration. From the data of captured birds at several ringing stations in the western Mediterranean (Balea...

Twenty-nine laboratory-confirmed West Nile virus (WNV encephalitis patients were bled serially so that WNV-reactive immunoglobulin (Ig) M activity could be determined. Of those patients bled, 7 (60%) of 12 had anti-WNV IgM at approximately 500 days after onset. Clinicians should be cautious when interpreting serologic results from early season WNV IgM-positive patients.

BACKGROUND WNV epidemics occur worldwide, new WNV isolates were isolated in southern-east Europe belonging to WNV lineage 2. A first international proficiency study on WNV indicted that some laboratories were not able to detect WNV lineage 2 virus genome by their PCR diagnostic assays. Therefore an actual External Quality Assessment with both virus lineages was performed to monitor the improvem...