No abstract

Nasal swab samples from patients with acute flu-like illness were evaluated for the presence of respiratory viruses in the Rhone-Alpes region of France from 1 October 1994 through 2 May 1995. The relative frequencies and seasonal distributions of the specific viruses were assessed. In addition, virus type was correlated with specific clinical signs and symptoms. During the study, 962 samples were collected by 75 medical practitioners participating in the Groupe Regional d'Observation de la Grippe surveillance network. One or more viruses were detected from 348 samples (36.1%), including 108 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), 64 influenza virus A type H3N2, 47 influenza virus B, 64 coronavirus, 35 rhinovirus, 22 adenovirus, 5 enterovirus, and 3 parainfluenza strains. There were 16 mixed infections. RSV infections peaked in the early winter, and influenza viruses A and B infections peaked during the late winter and early spring. There were two peaks of coronavirus infections (late fall and late winter). Other viruses were detected at lower levels throughout the study period. Patients from whom adenovirus was isolated were significantly more likely to have a fever of >39.5؇C than were patients with other detectable viruses (P < 0.001). Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between influenza and cough (P < 0.01) and RSV and bronchiolitis (P < .001). Thus, the current study defined the overall and relative frequencies of respiratory virus detection from nasal swab specimens in patients with an acute flu-like illness in the Rhone-Alpes region of France during a 7-month period. Correlation with clinical signs and symptoms and provisional conclusions regarding seasonality were also determined.

Male CD-1 mice were challenged with a diabetogenic strain (E2) of coxsackievirus B4 (CVB4). At 7 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after inoculation, mean histopathologic scores, postprandial blood glucose levels, and serum levels of antibody to islet cells were significantly elevated and mean fasting serum insulin levels significantly reduced in infected mice versus uninfected controls (P < .001 for each). At 7 weeks after infection, viral RNA, but not protein or infectious virus, was demonstrated in the pancreases of most infected mice. The pancreases of 4 of 12 and 0 of 10 infected animals were positive for viral RNA at 6 months and at 1 year after infection, respectively. Interferon-gamma-stimulated peritoneal macrophages were cytotoxic to islet cells with and without sera with high titers of islet cell autoantibody (ICA). Thus, islet cell destruction in mice infected with CVB4 strain E2 is associated with chronic islet cell inflammation, elevation of islet cell antibody, and prolonged presence of viral RNA in the pancreas. Stimulated peritoneal macrophages lyse islet cells directly and by an antibody-dependent mechanism.

Summary--lt has been suggested that cytokines play a role in certain clinical manifestations of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). In this study adherent (monocytes) and non-adherent (lymphocytes) mononuclear cells were stimulated in the presence or absence of phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), respectively, and supernatants were assayed for IL-6, TNF-~, and IL-10 by ELISA. IL-6 was also measured at the mRNA level by polymerase chain reaction. The levels of spontaneously (unstimulated) produced TNF-.7 by non-adherent lymphocytes and spontaneously produced IL-6 by both adherent monocytes and non-adherent lymphocytes were significantly increased as compared to simultaneously studied matched controls. The abnormality of IL-6 was also observed at mRNA level. In contrast, spontaneously produced IL-10 by both adherent and non-adherent cells and by PHA-activated non-adherent cells were decreased. This preliminary study suggests that an aberrant production of cytokines in CFS may play a role in the pathogenesis and in some of the clinical manifestations of CFS. ,<) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.