Further Serological Studies on the Rubella Syndrome

Abstract

Hand Eczema-Bettley M R Nr 155Seventeen per cent. of cases were thought to be occupational. In the diagnosis of industrial dermatitis the course of the illness, especially in relation to changes in work, is often of decisive importance.REFERENCES Calnan, C. D., and Wells, G. C. (1956). Brit. med. 7., 1, 12651, . Gross, P. (1959. Ann. Allergy, 17, 745. Heseltine, G. F. (1963). 7. psychosom. Res., 7, 241. Hjorth, N. (1963). Trans. St 7ohn's Hosp. derm. Soc. (Lond.), 49, 99. MacKenna, R. M. B. (1961). Practitioner, 186, 737. Sulzberger, M. B., and Baer, R. L. (1948 The exact nature of the risk of foetal damage following infection is hard to assess except in the case of rubella. This relationship was first noted by Gregg (1941) and later by Swan (1944), who drew attention to malformation of the eyes and hearing-organs after maternal rubella in the first trimester.The detailed prospective studies of Lundstr6m (1952, 1962) in Sweden and Manson et al. (1960) in England provided the necessary data for evaluation of this risk. Apart from a slightly higher incidence of stillbirths and infant deaths, the main effects noted were cataracts, deafness, and congenital heart disease, particularly patent ductus arteriosus, microcephaly, and coexistent mental retardation. These defects, occurring either singly or in combination, are referred to collectively as the rubella syndrome. In Lundstrdm's series 1,146 pregnant women exposed to rubella were studied. The incidence of the rubella syndrome was 11%, 11%, and 8% for each of the first three months respectively, with an overall incidence of 10% for the first trimester. The teratogenic effect of rubella on the human foetus is the reason for studying this otherwise mild infectious disease. The recent discovery, by several groups in North America, that the virus could be grown in cell culture opened up a new approach to the study of rubella and of the mechanism producing foetal damage. The first point studied was the serological status of children with the rubella syndrome. It was shown by Plotkin et al. (1963) that 8 out of 11 such children aged 5 months to 10 years had neutralizing antibody titres to rubella virus-six in high titre, two in titres of 4-and three children had no demonstrable antibody. The question that naturally arose from these findings was whether this antibody represented residual maternal antibody or whether it was actively produced. There seemed to be no reason why maternal antibody should persist for a longer period in rubella than in any other virus disease in which antibody passively transferred across the placenta disappears during the first six months of life. These results suggested, therefore, that antibody had been actively produced and that the foetus exposed to rubellavirus antigen in utero is not rendered immunologically tolerant. These sera were tested for neutralizing antibody by means of the interference-inhibition test in vervet-monkey-kidney cells as described by Parkman et al. (1962). Recently McCarthy et al. (1963) described an alter...

Australia Antigen in Cord Blood

“…The absence of IgA-immune globulins in the cord blood, however, makes such a materno-fetal shunt unlikely. On the other hand, the low IgM levels in the new-born's blood do not rule out a prenatal infection, since it is well known that IgM production is not always stimulated in an infected fetus [Dudgeon et al, 1964].…”

Anticorpos neutralizantes contra rubéola num grupo de gestantes de São Paulo

“…O efeito citopático da cepa do vírus da rubéola usada no presente trabalho é aquele descrito por DUDGEON, BUTLER & plotkin 4 (1964), para o vírus adaptado a RK 13 . Segundo a descrição deste autor, no terceiro dia as células dos extremos da camada celular sofrem um arredondamento, apresentando ao mesmo tempo focos que podem ser apreciados em toda a extensão da camada.…”

Rubella syndrome

“…It has been further shown that this is not passive transfer of maternal antibody (Dudgeon, Butler and Plotkin, 1964). Evidence that the foetus can produce antibody is shown by the high levels of immune macroglobulins found in rubella syndrome infants during the first few weeks of life.…”