SUMMARYA sero-epidemiological survey, using an indirect immunofluorescence test for IgG against Coxiella burnetii (phase II), was carried out in the Netherlands. Serum samples taken in 1968, 1975,1979 and 1983 were tested. Occupational groups with a supposedly high risk of infection (veterinarians, residents of dairy farms and taxidermists) showed a significantly higher percentage of seropositives than defined controls. The percentage of seropositive amateur wool spinners was significantly higher than that ofthe controls from the same region. Since 1968 there has been no increase in the percentage ofinfected persons, indicating that, contrary to earlier assumptions, Q fever has been endemic in The Netherlands for a long time already. The increase in numbers ofnotified cases ofovert Q fever is considered to be the result of the recent introduction of a sensitive indirect immunofluorescence test for IgM antibodies against C. burnetii. Antibody percentages in all age classes between 1 and 64 years were much alike, suggesting that most infections occur in early childhood. This is in accordance with the finding that 35 % of our patients are younger than 3 years. The possibility of infection related to childbirth and lactation is discussed.

RESUMO O objetivo foi descrever as características sociodemográficas, epidemiológicas e comportamentais de mulheres infectadas (64) e não infectadas (66)

Short communications235 79"69 _+ 3"60 × IO 6 were calculated. This mol. wt. is lower than the values of 92 × IO 6 reported by Rapp et al. (1977) and I IO × lO 6 reported by lltis et al. (I977). In their studies the mol.wt. was determined by co-sedimentation in a neutral sucrose gradient of tritium-labelled VZV DNA from the Hirt supernatant with T4 DNA. The tool. wt. of the two DNA isolates appeared indentical. However preliminary results from analysis by endonuclease cleavage have indicated differences in base sequences between the DNA of the two virus strains. More isolates should be analysed to permit further conclusions. Gemeentel(ike Geneeskundige en Gezondheidsdienst,

Cleavage of varicella-zoster virus DNA with the restriction endonucleases PstI, XbaI, and BglII resulted in 18, 22, and 20 fragments, respectively. Based on the molecular weights and molarities of these fragments, a molecular weight of 84 x 106 could be calculated for the varicella-zoster virus genome. In both the XbaI and the BglII patterns, four 0.5 M fragments were identified. The arrangement of the fragments was determined by molecular hybridization techniques, and the terminal fragments were identified by A exonuclease digestion. The 0.5 M fragments, of which two were located at the same terminus of the genome, contained repeated sequences: one terminally and one inverted internally. These results were in agreement with the existence of two equimolar subpopulations of the varicella-zoster virus genome, differing in the relative orientation of a short region of unique sequences. This region was bounded by the repeated sequences. From the molecular weights of the submolar fragments, a maximal molecular weight of 5 x 106 for the repeated region and a minimal molecular weight of 3.5 x 106 for the short unique sequence could be calculated. MgCl2-50 mM NaCl-6 mM f8-mercaptoethanol; for XbaI, 6 mM Tris-hydrochloride (pH 7.9)-6 mM MgCl2-150 mM NaCl-6 mM ,B-mercaptoethanol; and for BglII, 10 mM Tris-hydrochloride (pH 7.4)-6 mM KCl-10 mM MgCl2-1 mM dithiothreitol. Each reaction mixture was incubated for 2 h at 37°C (XbaI and BglII) or 1 h at 30°C (PstI) with sufficient enzyme to 390

To evaluate a non-marketed research prototype of a solid-phase enzyme immunoassay for detection of herpes simplex virus in genital lesions, 154 clinical specimens were collected from 127 men and 27 women with symptoms suggestive of herpes simplex virus infection (erythema, vesicles, ulcers and crustae). The samples were tested using the assay and cultures on four monolayers of human embryonic lung fibroblasts and Vero cells. When the culture was used as reference method, sensitivity was 76.9% and specificity 100% (prevalence 42.4%). Comparison of results by patient group showed that sensitivity was highest in material from patients with vesicles and ulcers. The highest sensitivity was obtained in specimens which developed a cytopathological effect within 48 h and in specimens with three or four positive cell cultures. These findings suggest that the assay is more successful in specimens with high virus titres. The enzyme immunoassay was found to be a rapid, moderately sensitive, highly specific test for detection of herpes simplex virus from genital lesions, but the usefulness of the assay is limited and culture methods should be preferred.