The effect of varying conditions of inoculation and incubation on the growth of type C influenza virus in the allantoic cavity of the developing chick embryo were investigated. It was found that the highest yields of both virus haemagglutinin and infectious virus were obtained following the inoculation of chick embryos at 8 days with subsequent incubation at 32° C. Using the chick embryo allantoic cavity for titration of infectious virus, growth curves of allantoically propagated virus under varying inoculation and incubation conditions were determined.

Mice were immunized against Salmonella typhimurium with graded doses of heat-killed (HK) and acetone-killed (AK) vaccines and then challenged by the oral or intraperitoneal routes with two doses of S. typhimurium. HK and AK vaccines gave good protection against an intraperitoneal challenge, but failed to protect against an oral challenge which is presumably the natural mode of infection. HK vaccine was as potent as AK vaccine in reducing the mortality rate among mice challenged by the intraperitoneal route but, unlike HK vaccine, AK vaccine was also able to reduce the infectivity rate. With a small intraperitoneal challenge dose it was observed that a gradual increase in vaccine dose is associated with a corresponding fall in mortality rate, but with a larger challenge dose an increase in vaccine dose was associated with a corresponding increase in mortality rates. It was concluded that the protective potency of this type of vaccine may partly depend upon the total amount of antigen in the animal, i.e. including both the vaccine and the challenge organisms, at a critical time after challenge.

Mycoplasma pulmonis was isolated from the pneumonic lung of a rat. Two groups of mycoplasma-free rats were inoculated, one with a culture of the M. pulmonis strain winch had been cloned four times (group A) and the other with a lung homogenate of the rat from which the strain had been isolated (group B). A third group (C) consisted of uninoculated control animals. Each group was kept in strict isolation and allowed to breed so that the progeny was naturally exposed to any pathogens present in the inoculated animals. After different periods of exposure, rats were autopsied, respiratory tracts and inner ears were cultured for mycoplasmas and bacteria, and sera were tested for complement-fixing antibodies to murine mycoplasmas.

In group-A rats, M. pulmonis was consistently isolated from the inner ears or lungs from 50 to 715 days after exposure. Complement-fixing antibody to M. pulmonis was detected 20 days after inoculation, but in the naturally exposed progeny antibody took longer than 50 days to develop. Antibodies to the other known mycoplasmas of murino origin, M. arthritidis and M. neurolylicum, were never found. Purulent otitis interna was consistently found from day 55 onwards, while lung lesions were first observed at 85 days and persisted to 715 days. Pulmonary lesions developed more slowly in inoculated parents than in exposed progeny. Similar results were found in group-B rats, which were examined up to 441 days after inoculation. Uninoculated group-C rats were examined up to 768 days of ago, but M. pulmonis was not recovered; of tho 54 animals whose serum was tested all wore negativo to tho three species of mycoplasmas, except one which had a titre of 16 with M. pulmonis. Pneumonia, bronchiectasis or lymphoroticular hyperplasia wore not seen in any of these control rats. Bacterial respiratory pathogens were not isolated from rats in any of the groups, nor was antibody to Sendai virus detected.

Tho results suggest that M. pulmonis alono can cause pneumonia and bronchiee-tasis in rats since mechanical carry-over of another pathogen with the initial cloned inoculum is very unlikely and there was no evidence for the participation of any other rat pathogen. The respiratory disease induced by the cloned culture was comparable with that induced by the lung homogenate, and with the well-known syndrome of chronic respiratory disease and bronchiectasis in the rat.

Thermal comfort sensations are often studied in isolation, with the subjects' attention specifically directed towards their evaluation, both by instructions and by the recurrent act of questioning. A closer approach to the field situation, in which room temperature is at most a background stimulus, is made possible by the method of spontaneous magnitude estimation of thermal sensation. Thirty-six male and 36 female 17-year-old subjects in standard cotton uniforms (0·7 clo) were exposed in groups of 4 in a climate chamber to patterns of changing air temperature typical of conditions in occupied classrooms. Temperatures remained within the range 20–29° C. and did not increase more rapidly than 4° C./hr. Each individual recorded his thermal sensation on a dial voting apparatus, registering changes spontaneously as a secondary task while performing mental work during three successive 50 min. periods, with 10 min. breaks between. It was thus possible to obtain a measure of the time course of thermal discomfort sensations, including the extent to which they distracted attention. Significant differences were found between the responses of males and females, males in general feeling hotter and reacting more rapidly to changes in temperature. Response distributions are given in detail.

During systemic treatment of mice with ampicillin or streptomycin, oral contaminations with exogenous bacterial species resulted in an abnormal colonization pattern. The contaminants persisted much longer and in much higher concentrations in the caecum of systemically treated mice than in control animals. Spread of the contaminant into the mesenteric lymph nodes and the spleen was found much more often in the antibiotic treated group. This, however, was only seen when the contaminant was ‘resistant’ to the antibiotic injected. The experiments suggest that the ‘CR-inducing species’ of the microflora live in close contact with the mucosa and therefore could be identical with the anaerobic tapered rods described by Savage & Dubos (1968).

The presence of a heat-stable interferon-like inhibitor in allantoic and amniotic fluids collected from chick embryos infected with type C influenza virus was determined. This inhibitorwas characterized as an interferon and the ability of both live and ultra-violet-irradiated influenza type C virus to induce the substance was examined under various conditions.

The bactericidal activity of natural sea-water on S. typhi is due to the combined effect of pH, salinity, toxic ions, presence of competitor and predator marine organisms, unidentified heat-labile toxic substances and competition for the limited food supply. Sea-water subjected to filtration and autoclaving lost the major part of its bactericidal activity. It is concluded that predators and competitors contribute significantly to the rapid death of S. typhi in raw sea-water. The addition of peptone decreases the bactericidal activity of sea-water. The fluctuations in the total number of competitors and predators in sea-water together with the fluctuations in the concentration of heavy metal ions may be affected by various factors. Such fluctuations are probably responsible for the variable bactericidal action of different sea-water samples.

Bathing in sewage-polluted sea-water carries with it a health risk in spite of the excessive dilution of pathogenic micro-organisms in the sea and the rapid self-purification process of sea-water. The natural purifying processes are incapable of coping with massive pollution problems and should not be relied on as the sole protection offered to users of sea-water.

The frequency of herds affected with 13 different diseases is shown to bear a simple relationship to the frequency of affected animals. The relationship seems to be useful for predicting proportions of affected herds.

The multiplication pattern of a temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant of bovine parainfluenza 3 virus was studied in hamsters and compared with that of a virulent virus strain. The ts mutant was recovered regularly from the nasal mucosa and not from the lungs, whereas the virulent virus multiplied in the lungs as well as in the nasal mucosa.

The serological response induced by the mutant was comparable to that obtained after inoculation of the virulent virus.

This ts mutant may be a potential candidate for a live intranasal vaccine against bovine parainfluenza 3 infection.

The virus of Tanapox isolated from the lesions of patients during an outbreak of mild disease in Africa has been found to be indistinguishable in its biological and serological properties from a virus isolated from outbreaks of a pox virus infection in monkeys in primate centres in America. The natural hosts of this virus are believed to be African monkeys and ‘Tanapox virus’ is proposed as a suitable designation for the virus.

A comparison was made of beef cooked in conventional and moist air (Rapidaire) ovens. In both large (ca. 4·5 kg.) and small (ca. 2·7 kg.) joints, spores of Clostridium welchii survived after cooking but vegetative cells, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, did not, regardless of the type of oven used

Cooling at room temperature after cooking permitted growth of Cl. welchii. Although some multiplication also occurred in the centre of large roasts cooled under refrigeration, the viable counts were considered too low to constitute a potential health risk

The protection afforded by similar concentrations of different dengue virus serotypes against a subsequent challenge of West Nile virus was studied in hamsters. The New Guinea C strain of dengue 2 virus gave the best protection. It was found that the anamnestic neutralizing antibody response induced by the challenge West Nile virus against West Nile virus in hamsters, previously immunized with dengue 2 virus, might play a major role in the cross-protection observed in this system.

Six coronaviruses isolated in the U.S.A. have been inoculated into volunteers and all produced colds. Between 10 and 20 % of infected volunteers developed heterologous antibody responses after these and other experimental infections with coronaviruses. The haemagglutination-inhibition test with the OC43 virus strain was found to detect antibody rises after infection with a variety of strains.

Studies on normal adult sera taken between 1965 and 1970 revealed a high frequency of neutralizing antibody to one strain (229E) and a frequency of HI antibody to strain OC43 which fluctuated from year to year. Complement-fixing antibodies to these two viruses were also found, revealing an apparent increase in the activity of coronaviruses in the general population of the U.K., during the winter of 1968–9.

In BHK 21 cells infected with more than one TRIC organism the inclusions coalesce so that 30 hr. after infection only one inclusion per cell remains. Six hours after infection the cells are as susceptible to further infection as uninfected cells.

The inoculation of large doses of unadapted influenza virus intranasally into mice results in the production of severe lung lesions. This toxic effect is a result of the entry of virus particles into the lung cells followed by uncoating of the virus ribonucleic acid.

The toxic property of the virus is destroyed by procedures which destroy or niodify the nucleic acid such as exposure to monochromatic UV light of wavelength 2537 Å, or treatment with hydroxylamine or Bayer A139. Reagents acting on amino groups are particularly effective as they react with the nucleic acid and probably also interfere with penetration of virus into the cell.

Toxicity is also destroyed by mercurials which probably prevent uncoating of the nucleic acid by union with disulphide bonds, and by oxidizing agents such as iodine, permanganate, osmic acid and hydrogen peroxide under conditions which suggest possible action on some constituent of the virus containing methionine

The toxic effect produced by the inoculation of large doses of unadapted virus intranasally in miceis associated with the occurrence of an incomplete growth cycle in which there is full production of RNP antigen but no production of haemagglutinin or infective virus.

A study of diphtheria in Iran was undertaken during the summer of 1969. Diphtheria was found to be more common among the younger people and to reach its peak 3 months after the start of the school term, during the coldest period of the year. Owing to the liberal use of antibiotics a number of modified clinical cases were observed. Of the strains isolated, 89·7% were gravis, 1·3% intermedius and 9 % mitis. Phage typing of these strains showed that the mitis and intermedius strains could only be typed by adapted phages and the majority of gravis strains were phage type XIV, which is the epidemic type seen in other countries.

As the mass immunization campaign reduces the incidence of diphtheria in Iran, the epidemiological pattern of the disease will change as seen in the U.K. and U.S.A. It is, therefore, suggested that in the future further studies of diphtheria in Iran be undertaken in order to provide us with information about the changing epidemiological pattern of the disease.

The relationship between multiplicity of infection and the yield of organisms and of polysaccharide was studied in BHK 21 cells infected with TRIC organisms. Although an increase in themultiplicity of infection resulted in an increase in the absolute number of organisms per culture, there was a decrease in relation to the number of infecting organisms. The amount of polysaccharide produced was independent of multiplicity of infection; it was not limited by the concentration of glucose in the medium. Polysaccharide leaked from cells and was slowly broken down in the culture medium.

An investigation to test the efficiency of chemical closets in treating excreta from typhoid carriers is described. The use of these closets kept a stream, which had in the past frequently contained Salmonella typhi, typhoid free for 24 months. Selenite broth as made in this laboratory, containing a final concentration of 0·8% sodium hydrogen selenite when inoculated with the water sample, was significantly better than commercial selenite brilliant green enrichment broth for the recovery of S. typhi.

Investigation of a small series of cases of typhoid fever infected in a river between 1963 and 1970 revealed that all were caused by a single source, a carrier of a rare phage type of Salmonella typhi. The contamination of the river resulted from an incorrect sewage connexion with a surface water drain outfall into the river.

Aerosol vaccination of mice with purified plain tetanus toxoid does not induce an immune response unless a suitable adjuvant is added.

Aluminium phosphate is without effect by aerosol treatment. Killed cells of Klebsiella pneumoniae, although effective, are unsatisfactory owing to the long inhalation period needed.

Killed Bordetella perussis cells were found to be an excellent adjuvant. A single aerosol treatment with a toxoid-B. pertussis mixture during a moderate exposure period evoked a considerable immune response. With repeated aerosol treatment of primed mice the addition of adjuvant is not required; booster treatment with plain toxoid is at least as effective.

Extracts from B. pertussis cells exert as good an adjuvant effect as the whole-cell vaccine. The remaining cell-wall debris also appears to be an active adjuvant.

In combination with constant doses of adjuvant (108B. pertussis cells), the 50 % protective doses (ED 50) of toxoid were determined by inhalation and by s.c. injection and were found to be 0·1875 and 0·0625 LFU respectively. This would imply that, as a result of the adjuvant action, the s.c. ED 50 is reduced by approximately a factor of 20; whereas the respiratory ED 50 is decreased by at least a factor of 100.

It is suggested that the much more pronounced adjuvant activity in aerosol immunization is associated with the induction of strong cell-mediated hypersensitivity in the respiratory tract.