Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology
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Early antibody responses to influenza infection are important in both clearance of virus and fighting the disease. Acute influenza antibody titers directed toward H1-antigens and their relation to infection type and patient outcomes have not been well investigated. ⋯ In patients with acute respiratory infections, lower concentrations of H1-influenza-specific antibodies were associated with influenza infection. Among influenza-infected patients, higher antibody titers were present in patients with a longer duration of illness and with higher severity-of-symptom scores.
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Data on the prevalence of cervical HPV genotypes in Australia by age and by grade of cytological abnormality are sparse. ⋯ Pre-vaccination cross-sectional prevalence of HR-HPV infection was high in this sample of Australian women attending for screening. HPV 16 was the commonest high-risk type detected at all ages and cytological grades.
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The relevance of the detection of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in the respiratory tract of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) is unclear. Therefore, it is uncertain whether treatment with an antiviral agent could be beneficial for these patients. ⋯ These data highlight the hypothesis that it might be worthwhile to consider treatment of HSV-1 in ICU patients depending on the type of respiratory sample in which the virus is detected. These results warrant a prospective trial to prove causality.
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A highly pathogenic human coronavirus causing respiratory disease emerged in the Middle East region in 2012. In-house molecular diagnostic methods for this virus termed Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) allowed sensitive MERS-CoV RNA detection in patient samples. Fast diagnosis is important to manage human cases and trace possible contacts. ⋯ The kit is a valuable tool for assisting in the rapid diagnosis, patient management and epidemiology of suspected MERS-CoV cases.