Either 5 g Sandoglobulin or 5 g Gamma-Venin was administered in short-time intravenous infusions to 14 volunteers. The gamma-globulin preparation was given to some of the volunteers 24 hours after rubella vaccination, in the others 14 days, in three of the Sandoglobulin group 28 days before rubella vaccination. Gamma-Venin in these circumstances did not retard the vaccination-induced rubella infection. In all volunteers the usual rubella titres developed after the vaccination. Sandoglobulin, on the other hand, in all the given conditions either completely inhibited or at least decreased the rubella infection, an effect which is well known from the experimental studies with standard globulin preparations under administration of similar amounts of antibodies.

The following study was conducted to determine whether there would be an effect on the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis if both partners in a sexual relationship, rather than only one, underwent screening. First-void urine samples were collected from 1,690 asymptomatic women (mean age, 30 years; range, 15–70 years) and their male sex partners (mean age, 33 years; range, 16–71 years). The duration of sexual partnership for these subjects ranged from 2 months to more than 10 years.. At the time of testing, 687 of the women were pregnant. Ligase chain reaction testing revealed that 42 (2.5%) female and 63 (3.7%) male urine samples were positive. Detection rates for Chlamydia trachomatis differed for males and females, a difference that was found to be significant (P<0.0046, McNemar chi-square). Both partners tested positive in 27 (1.6%) couples, whereas at least one partner tested positive in 78 (4.6%) couples. Thus, screening males for Chlamydia trachomatis would have identified 63 (81%) of these 78 couples compared with only 42 (54%) couples had females been screened exclusively. In standard clinical practice, women most often undergo screening. The results of this study underscore the need to screen both males and females for Chlamydia trachomatis.

Microimmunofluorescence (MIF), a Chlamydia trachomatis species-specific enzyme immunoassay incorporating lipopolysaccharide-extracted Chlamydia trachomatis L2 elementary bodies, two different synthetic peptide-based species-specific tests, and a recombinant lipopolysaccharide genus-specific test were performed on multiple follow-up sera (n=104 total) from 16 women with Chlamydia trachomatis-positive cervical swabs. These women included five with IgG seroconversions, five with Chlamydia trachomatis reinfections after initial therapy, and six with serologic follow-up of more than 6 years after antibiotic therapy. Of all the tests employed in this study, MIF IgG reverted earliest to negative titers, while MIF IgA was the least sensitive. The lipopolysaccharide-extracted elementary body enzyme immunoassay exhibited the closest correlation with the MIF test. The highest test sensitivity was observed in one of the synthetic peptide-based tests, which detected earliest seroconversions and longest IgG persistence. The other synthetic peptide-based test gave false-negative results in 2 of 16 women and did not detect seroconversion earlier than the MIF test. Seroconversion and persistence of genus-specific IgG – cross-reactivity with Chlamydia pneumoniae– against lipopolysaccharide were similar to species-specific IgG. A significant serologic response to reinfection was observed only in women with signs of pelvic inflammatory disease. Species-specific tests of high sensitivity and reproducibility are best suited for gynecological diagnostic purposes.

A total of 276 cervical swabs (241 from first visits and 35 from follow-up visits) from 241 women were tested forChlamydia trachomatis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Sixty-one smears (53 from first visits and 8 from follow-up visits) from 53 women were stained by direct fluorescent antibody (DFA). Twenty-one (8.7%) women had positive swabs in at least two different tests. All follow-up swabs (collected between 3 days and 3 weeks after the first clinical visit) were positive in at least one test when the woman had been positive at the first visit and no antibiotic treatment had been initiated. Including swabs from follow-up visits and DFA results, the respective sensitivities and specificities of the assays were as follows: PCR, 75.9% and 100%; EIA, 69% and 98.4%. The seven swabs that were false negative by PCR (tested initially after thawing from-20°C) were mailed nonrefrigerated to the assay manufacturer, where they tested true positive. These data point to labile inhibitors of the PCR, predominantly cervical mucus.

The ImmunoComb® Chlamydia Bivalent IgG/IgA (Orgenics, Israel) is a new quantitative serologic test that employs LPS extractedChlamydia trachomatis L2 and LPS extractedChlamydia pneumoniae elementary bodies on two separate antigenic spots. The BivalentC. trachomatis specific test results were compared with microimmunofluorescence (MIF), the gold standard of chlamydial species specific serology. ForC. trachomatis IgG the Bivalent was highly concordant with the MIF: the rate of positive titres (IgG≥1:8) was 10% vs. 11% in 100 blood donors, 18% vs. 16% in 111 obstetric patients (6% antigen prevalence), 26% vs. 22% in sterile women with open (n=54) and 86% vs. 84% with occluded (n=51) tubes, and 88% vs. 85% in 103 women withC. trachomatis positive cervical smears. Surprisingly, the Bivalent differed considerably from the MIF in IgA prevalence: in obstetric patients (8% vs. 4%), sterile women with open (13% vs. 6%) and occluded (71% vs. 20%) tubes, and women with positive cervical smears (78% vs. 24%). Bivalent IgA appeared to be more sensitive than MIF IgA and showed a stronger correlation with positive cervical smears in obstetric patients (sensitivity 67% vs. 0%, specificity 95% vs. 96%, positive prediction 44% vs. 0%, negative prediction 98% vs. 94%) and with tubal occlusion in sterile women (sensitivity 71% vs. 20%, specificity 87% vs. 94%, positive prediction 84% vs. 77%, negative prediction 76% vs. 55%). MIF IgM was of little diagnostic help. Supplemental to the often difficultC. trachomatis antigen detection, the easily performed Bivalent IgG/IgA appears to be of great value in routine diagnosis of genital chlamydial infections.

The ImmunoCombChlamydia trachomatis IgG/IgA (Orgenics, Israel) is a new serologic test usingC. trachomatis L2 elementary bodies (Washington Research Foundation, Seattle) as antigen. The Ipazyme IgG/IgA test (Savyon, Israel) employs whole cells withC. trachomatis L2 inclusions, i. e. elementary and reticulate bodies. Theoretically, the ImmunoComb is expected to be less cross-reactive (LPS) withChlamydia pneumoniae than the Ipazyme (LPS and reticulate body group specific antigens). Compared with the Ipazyme, the ImmunoComb IgA showed both a higher positive predictive value (36% versus 25%) and sensitivity (67% versus 33%) for antigen detection in a control group of 100 post partum women with a 6% prevalence ofC. trachomatis positive cervical smears. In sterility patients (45 cases with occluded and 53 with open fallopian tubes) the tube status was predicted by the ImmunoComb (Ipazyme) with 74% (72%) positive predictive value, 87% (80%) sensitivity, and 87% (81%) negative predictive value. IgG/IgA prevalence in 118 patients withC. trachomatis positive cervical smears was 85%/55% for the ImmunoComb and 84%/49% for the Ipazyme. The ImmunoComb is considerably faster and easier in handling and less subjective in reading than the Ipazyme.

Infektionen waren früher die Hauptursache der schwangerschaftsbedingten mütterlichen und Neugeborenen-Mortalität. Heute sind Infektionen so weit verdrängt, daß sie als Risikoangabe in den mit viel Erfolg durchgeführten Perinatalerhebungen überhaupt nicht erscheinen. Liegt dies nun daran, daß wir keinerlei Infektionsprobleme in der Schwangerschaft mehr haben, oder daran, daß Infektionen bei uns zu wenig beachtet werden?

Six virus laboratories from various parts of the German Federal Republic and West Berlin undertook investigations into polio-myelitis immunity in 1972. A total of 267 persons aged up to 20 years were investigated for neutralizing antibodies against the three types of polio virus. The study showed that from the fourth year of life approximately 70% of the persons investigated had antibodies against all three types of polio virus. In some younger children the equivalent values were considerably lower. After the fourth year of life there were only slight differences in the humoral immunity against the three polio virus types. There was no evidence that the immunity level had deteriorated up to the 20th year of life and thus there is no indication of the necessity for a repeat immunisation at a certain time. The investigation confirmed that three oral administrations of trivalent vaccine, as are now generally recommended as basic immunization in the German Federal Republic, result in a conversion rate of over 90% against each of the three virus types.

The rubella antibody titres were evaluated in 158 girls who had been seronegative prior to immunization and had been immunised 4 years previously (1971) with the rubella vaccine HPV77DE5. In 138 girls (87%) the 1975 titres were unchanged in comparison with 1971. Only in 5 girls (3.2%) the titres had decreased by up to 2 log2 steps. In two patients the titre reached the critical value of 1:8 which must be considered negative due to the high sensitivity of the haemagglutination inhibition test. A titre increase by two or more steps was observed in 15 girls (9.5%). A third of the titre increases might be due to reinfection with rubella wild virus which would correspond to a reinfection rate of less than 1% per year. Present knowledge indicates that reinfection during pregnancy does not endanger the unborn child.

The effect of KMnO4, Fe2 3, CuO and copper chromite on the pressure limits of combustion of ammonium perchlorate was investigated. The lower pressure limit in all cases increased with small additions of each catalyst and then decreased at higher concentrations of catalyst. An upper pressure limit was observed in the deflagration of samples with high concentrations of KMnO4. It was further observed that the effect of catalysts depends strongly on the way they are distributed as well as their concentration. The catalysis were found to be much more effective at a smaller particle size.