Worm.com

Despite opposition, New Jersey looks to mandate flu shots

The state of New Jersey’s Public Health Council voted in favor of making annual flu shots mandatory for all children who attend preschool or are in daycare.

There was heavy opposition from a large number of parents and children’s rights groups, including many who believe there is a link between vaccinations and autism. The council, however, said they did not believe such a connection existed.

According to New Jersey state health officials, the goal is to bring down the total number of sick children, hospitalizations and …

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

We examined feathers of domestic ducks and geese inoculated with 2 different avian influenza virus (H5N1) genotypes. Together with virus isolation from the skin, the detection of viral antigens and ultrastructural observation of the virions in the feather epidermis raise the possibility of feathers as sources of infection.

**********

Since 1997, an epidemic of avian influenza (AI) virus subtype H5N1 has spread in Asia, causing fatal infections in poultry, wild birds, mammals, and humans (1). Wild waterfowl, including ducks and geese, are natural hosts of AI virus of all 16 hemagglutinin subtypes in nature (2,3). Generally, AI virus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route without causing clinical signs (2-4). Although current AI virus (H5N1) strains have mild to severe pathogenicity in waterfowl (5-7), these birds can still be carriers of the virus (7). Even asymptomatic domestic ducks can shed the virus from the cloaca and oral cavity (7,8) and contribute to viral maintenance and spread (9,10). Therefore, focusing on the epidemiologic role of domestic waterfowl in AI (H5N 1) outbreaks is important.

We previously reported that the Japanese AI virus (H5N1) isolated in 2004 causes necrosis of the feather epidermis with viral antigens in domestic ducks, a finding that demonstrates the possibility of viral release from feathers (11). In addition, these affected feathers can cause infection in orally inoculated domestic ducks (12). Except for our previous studies, to our knowledge this feather lesion has not been reported in AI (H5N1)-infected waterfowl. However, if the feather lesion is common to other waterfowl species and AI (H5N 1), affected feathers might involve the spread of the virus. We describe the pathologic, virologic and ultrastructual findings of the feather in domestic waterfowl infected with AI (H5N1).

The Study

Two species of domestic waterfowl, ducks (n = 4) and geese (n = 4), were used. Domestic ducks (Anasplaty rhynchos var. domestica) called Aigamo in Japanese are a crossbreed of wild mallard and domestic ducks; they are free-ranging ducks in water-soaked rice paddy fields and are used for weed control and meat production. Domestic geese (Anser cygnoides var. domestica) are reared for food production on farms. We selected geese because wild geese (A. indicus) accounted for a large proportion of the deaths in AI (H5N1) outbreaks at Qinghai Lake in People’s Republic of China in 2005 (5). These 2 species of birds were obtained from the farm at 1 day of age and raised with commercial food in an isolated facility. Birds were moved into negative-pressure isolators of Biosafety Level 3-approved laboratories (National Institute of Animal Health, Tsukuba, Japan) for acclimation 1 week before inoculation.

Two different AI virus (H5N1) genotypes were used. A/chicken/Yamaguchi/7/2004 (Ck/Yama/7/04) is classified as genotype V (13). A/chicken/Miyazaki/K11/2007 (Ck/ Miya/K11/07) belongs to genotype Z and H5 clade 2 subclade 2 (M. Mase, unpub, data), which is now circulating from China to Japan, Europe, and Africa (5,14). The stored virus was propagated for 36-48 hours in the allantoic cavity of 10-day-old embryonated chicken eggs at 37[degrees]C. The infectious allantoic fluid was harvested and stored at -80[degrees]C until use. All experimental procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the National Institute of Animal Health in Japan.

For each species, two 4-week-old birds were inoculated intranasally with 0.1 mL of the inoculum containing 108 50% egg infectious dose ([EID.sub.50) per mL of each AI virus (H5N 1) genotype. Each inoculated group was kept in a separate isolator. Inoculated birds were euthanized with an overdose injection of sodium pentobarbital (i.v.) on days 3 and 5 postinoculation.

For histopathology, the skin, including numerous feathers, was removed from the head, neck, back, shoulder, abdomen, thigh, and tail. Samples were fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin, embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 4 gm, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the viral antigen with a Histofine Simple Stain PO (M) kit (Nichirei Inc., Tokyo, Japan). A mouse monoclonal antibody specific for the influenza A matrix protein (diluted 1:500; clone GA2B, AbD Serotec, Kidlington, UK) was used as the primary antibody (11). For the virus isolation, clean dry skin was collected from the neck and stored at -80[degrees]C (11). The viral titer of the samples was determined with 10-day-old embryonated chicken eggs and expressed as [EID.sub.50]/g as previously described (13). The viral titer <102 [EID.sub.50]/g was considered negative for virus isolation. For the electron microscopic examination, flesh contour feathers were fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M phosphate buffer, postfixed in 1% osmium tetroxide, and embedded in epoxy resin. Ultrathin sections were stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and examined under a Hitachi H-7500 transmission electron microscope (Hitachi Corp., Tokyo, Japan).

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

Researchers have found traces of a virus called epstein-Barr during autopsies of the brains of people who died of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study reported in the Nov. 5 Journal of experimental Medicine. They found Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in certain immune cells in the brains of people with MS, but not in the brains of people who did not have MS.

EBV is a herpes virus that causes mononucleosis. Most people have been exposed to eBV, which may become dormant, meaning it is present but inactive in the body. Or it can be reactivated and cause infection. There is no vaccine to prevent EBV and no antiviral medication to treat it. Further research is needed to determine if EBV actually causes MS.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Belvoir Media Group, LLC
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

“My computer is acting up. It must be a virus.”

You’ve undoubtedly heard comments like this or even thought this yourself. In actuality, most computer glitches are caused by software conflicts or user error. Viruses aren’t as common as other computer problems. They’re found in about 0.15 percent of e-mails, according to the latest figures from MessageLabs (www.messagelabs.com), a provider of Internet security products that each day analyzes more than 180 million e-mails worldwide for its business clients. That makes viruses less prevalent than phishing attacks that try to trick you into revealing your credit card, banking, or other personal information, which make up about 0.45 percent of e-mails. The most common e-mail problem, however, is spam, those unsolicited, untargeted commercial messages sent in bulk, with such messages comprising a whopping 44.96 percent of all e-mails.

But viruses do get a lot of attention, and it’s easy to see why. They have an ominous and mysterious aura. And, they can do serious damage, to include wiping out all the data on your hard drive. Some may not do overt harm, but instead scare you with a pop-up text message such as “Gotcha,” a photo of a raised middle finger, or a sinister audio or video file. Computer viruses are simply small computer programs. Like human viruses, computer viruses can replicate, spreading like a disease from one computer to another through e-mail or, less commonly, through infected CD-ROM discs, USB drives, music and other file-sharing networks, and Websites.

All indications are that viruses are typically written by pranksters in their teens and 20s, according to virus experts. Some are written by truly disturbed individuals, the kind of sociopaths who indiscriminately slash tires. Some may be written in a more formalized way by members of organized crime families or foreign terrorist groups. And some are intended as “good viruses” to delete other viruses but may inadvertently cause harm, for instance, by deleting a vital system file by mistake.

Viruses may be written from scratch by programmers. Or they may be created with virus-writing kits, requiring no programming knowledge. Some virus writers write viruses for the intellectual challenge, never intending to release them. Some of these viruses get released accidentally. Websites and online chat rooms exist where virus writers ask questions, trade tricks, and boast of their exploits.

The first line of defense against viruses, as with every potential computer disaster, is to make regular backups of the vital data stored on your hard drive. Ideally, you should periodically do this to a medium that’s not continuously connected and accessible, to prevent a virus from infecting it too.

The next safety step is to use antivirus software. Top programs include Symantec’s Norton Antivirus, available separately or as part of other Symantec products (www.symantec.com); and McAfee VirusScan (www.mcafee.com), also available separately or as part of a larger suite of other products. Antivirus programs scan relevant files looking for the specific programming code or signatures of known viruses. They also look for common behaviors of viruses. To avoid conflicts, you should use only one antivirus program at a time. Another excellent program, which can be used in conjunction with antivirus and other security programs, is Spybot Search & Destroy (www.safer-networking.org). This program removes spyware and other malware. It’s a superb example of international altruistic entrepreneurship. The program was written and is supported by German software engineer Patrick Kolla and the volunteers who work with him, and it’s distributed by Kolla’s Irish company Safer Networking Ltd. The program, which has won many awards for its effectiveness, is free for noncommercial use, supported by donations. The fees for corporate use depend on the size of your network.

Also, when protecting yourself with the above software shields, be careful about e-mail attachments. Don’t open any from people you don’t know. If you receive an attachment from someone you do know but weren’t expecting it, contact the sender to verify that the person actually intended to send it. It’s also important to keep your operating system up to date, ideally directing it to download bug fixes and other updates automatically. It’s equally important to keep your antivirus and other security software up to date by doing the same.

Reid Goldsborough is a syndicated columnist and author of the book Straight Talk About the Information Superhighway. He can be reached at reidgold@netaxs.com or at www.netaxs.com/~reidgold/column.

Copyright Quality Publishing, Inc. Jan 2008
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

The Drone War: A Cassandra Virus Novel

K.V. Johansen

Sybertooth Inc.

59 Salem Street, Sackville, NB E4L 4J6 Canada

ISBN 9780973950526, $ 9.95, 2007

This book is in the future and is about five people and a super robot. Jordan (a computer wiz) and Helen (a biologist) are the two kids. The three teenagers are Jack, Sammilea, and Cassie. Cassie, Jordan’s sister, works for an artificial intelligence company. Jack is Cassie’s boyfriend and Sammilea is Cassie’s roommate at college. Something is stressing Cassie so Jordan and Helen get together with Jack and Sammilea and try to figure out what is wrong with her. The super robot named Cassandra is developing a conscience and won’t help them spy on Cassie. They take matters into their own hands and discover spies that are after Cassie.

My favorite part of this book was when Jordan, Helen, Jack, and Sammilea try very humorously to catch a spy that is following Cassie.

This book will make anyone who has not read the first one really want to read it and anyone who has read the first book want to read it again. I really think this book would have benefited greatly if it had an introductory chapter briefly describing the first book. The glossary at the end of the book helps a little. Because readers that have not read the first book will be confused, I do not think this book is the best it could be. This book’s author is kind of assuming its readers have already read the first one. I think this book leaves you wanting to know too much more about the characters. Because of that, I think this will be a book loved if you have read the first one, but only liked if you have not. I want to make it clear that people that have read the first one will be very delighted with this sequel. It made me laugh a couple of times and was a pretty interesting book.

I think this is a book for lots of purposes: a good bedtime story to read to kids as young as seven and a good action story for kids as old as fifteen. Past 15-years-old, kids might start to want more content in the book. Readers that have read the first book will probably rate "The Drone War" 4 stars. Although there were a few spelling errors, the writing was good in the sense of drawing people in and making them want to keep reading the book.

My overall opinion is that it was worth the time to read "The Drone War."

Reviewed by Dylan James (age 11) for Reader Views (11/07)

COPYRIGHT 2008 Midwest Book Review
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale Group

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

SMobile Systems, Columbus, Ohio, has created the first mobile security solution for devices coming to market using the Android platform, the Google-initiated, Linux-based open source mobile operating system. The Open Handset Alliance has released the Android’s software development kit. SMobile’s team of security engineers immediately went to work to create a security solution designed specifically for the platform.

SMobile Systems has announced its standard security offering, called SecurityShield(tm) — an integrated application that includes anti-virus, anti-spam and firewall …

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

Background & objectives: There is a paucity of information on distribution of hepatitis B genotypes from northeastern part of India. Arunachal Pradesh, one of the northeastern State of India bordering Bhutan, China and Myanmar, reported abnormally high numbers of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive cases in one of its districts during January-June 2005. We conducted this study in the subsequent months (August-December 2005) to know the prevalent genotypes by a rapid and specific method based on type-specific primers in Upper Dibang valley of Arunachal Pradesh.

Methods: A total of 438 randomly selected individual were screened for HBsAg positivity. Of the 93 HBsAg positive individuals, 36 HBsAg and HBV DNA positive samples were processed for HBV genotyping using type-specific primer based nested PCR (TSP-PCR). Representative samples were retested with RFLP-PCR based genotyping and nucleotide sequencing.

Results: Of the 36 samples, 29 (80.1%) could be genotyped by the TSP-PCR based method used. The predominant genotype was genotype A (41.6%) followed by genotypes C (27.8%) and D (11.1%). Seven isolates (19.9%) could not be genotyped by this method.

Interpretation & conclusions: The presence of genotype C in this part of the country needs attention as genotype C takes a more aggressive disease course. Also, detection of genotype C in this isolated community bordering Tibet suggests viral gene flow from Tibet or other South-east Asian countries where genotype C of HBV is predominant.

Key words Arunachal Pradesh - genotype C - hepatitis B - HBV

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major public health problem with over 360 million chronically infected people worldwide and accounting for about 600,000 deaths from HB V-related liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma annually1. Though a safe and effective vaccine has been available for more than 20 yr, it is not effective for established infections. Recently, HBV genotypes have attracted increasing attention since they influence the activity and outcome of HBV-associated chronic liver disease, as well as the response to antiviral therapies2.

There is paucity of data regarding HBsAg prevalence of HBV in north east (NE) India. There are pockets of high HBsAg cases especially among the isolated tribal communities in India3,4. An isolated tribal region situated at an altitude of over 1800 meters above sea level in Arunachal Pradesh bordering Tibet was investigated during August-December 2005 and the prevalent genotypes were characterized. The Idu Mishimi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh mostly inhabits this region. Idu tribe migrated from Tibet long back. HBV genotype C and C/D hybrids are common in Tibet5. However, genotypes A and D are predominant in India6, so we studied this remote tribal community for genotype distribution.

The main objective of the study was to know the circulating genotypes of HBV in this remote tribal community of the northeast, as no data were available on the prevalent HBV genotypes.

Material & Methods

The study was conducted between August to December 2005 and samples were collected from subjects enrolled for the study from Anini, the district headquarter of Upper Dibang valley of Arunachal Pradesh. Upper Dibang valley with an area of 9000 sq km has roughly a person per sq km with an approximate native population of 7152 (as per 2001 census) of mostly Idu Mishmi’s, including Anini, which has an approximate four thousand local residents. The route of this Mongoloid tribe can be traced to the Lhoba tribe of Tibet and they migrated to India long back and have remained a closed community for several centuries.

The study protocol was approved by the ethical committee of Regional Medical Research Centre, Dibrugarh. A total of 438 randomly selected individuals from the community between 2 to 56 yr (to cover approximately 4 per cent of world’s Idu Mishimi populations) with unknown HBsAg status were screened for HBsAg (EQUIPAR HBs Ag ELISA kits, Italy); and interviewed after obtaining a written and informed consent, and documented in a structured questionnaire to record the demographic information and clinical history. Non tribals were excluded from the study. Venous blood (5 ml) was withdrawn in a K3 EDTA tube from each person and plasma was separated, transported and preserved at -20CC till analyzed. From the 93 HBsAg positive samples, randomly 36 HBsAg and HBV DNA positive samples were processed for HBV genotyping.

DNA was extracted from 100 ìÀ of plasma using a commercial blood DNA extraction kit (E.Z.N.A. Blood DNA kit, Omega Bio-tek, USA).

The strategy described by Naito et al1 for classifying six genotypes from A-F with type-specific primers (TSP-PCR) was utilized. In brief, 10 µl of extracted DNA was subjected to 40 cycles of first round PCR using primers 5′-TCA CCA TAT TCT TGG GAA CAA GA-3′ (nt 2823-2845, universal, sense) and 5′CGA ACC ACT GAA CAA ATG GC-3′ (nt 685-704, universal, antisense) amplifying a 1063 bp region of S-gene7.

TSP-PCR was performed in two separate mixes A and B utilizing 1 µl of 1st round PCR product and subjecting to two rounds PCR cycles (20 cycles each) as described by Naito et al7. In mix A, primers specific for genotype A (5′-CTC GCG GAG ATT GAC GAG ATG T-3′ nt 113-134, type A specific, antisense), genotype B (5′-CAG GTT GGT GAG TGA CTG GAG A-3′ nt 324-345, type B specific, antisense), genotype C (5′-GGT CCT AGG AAT CCT GAT GTT G-3′ nt 165-186, type C specific, antisense) and a common universal sense primer (5′-GGC TCA AGT TCA GGA ACA GT-3′ nt 67-86, types A to C specific, sense) were used7.

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

"My computer is acting up. It must be a virus."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

You’ve undoubtedly heard comments like this or even thought this yourself. In actuality, most computer glitches are caused by software conflicts or user error. Viruses aren’t as common as other computer problems. They’re found in about 0.15 percent of e-mails, according to the latest figures from MessageLabs (www.messagelabs.com), a provider of Internet security products that each day analyzes more than 180 million e-mails worldwide for its business clients. That makes viruses less prevalent than phishing attacks that try to trick you into revealing your credit card, banking, or other personal information, which make up about 0.45 percent of e-mails. The most common e-mail problem, however, is spam, those unsolicited, untargeted commercial messages sent in bulk, with such messages comprising a whopping 44.96 percent of all e-mails.

But viruses do get a lot of attention, and it’s easy to see why. They have an ominous and mysterious aura. And, they can do serious damage, to include wiping out all the data on your hard drive. Some may not do overt harm, but instead scare you with a pop-up text message such as "Gotcha," a photo of a raised middle finger, or a sinister audio or video file. Computer viruses are simply small computer programs. Like human viruses, computer viruses can replicate, spreading like a disease from one computer to another through e-mail or, less commonly, through infected CD-ROM discs, USB drives, music and other file-sharing networks, and Websites.

All indications are that viruses are typically written by pranksters in their teens and 20s, according to virus experts. Some are written by truly disturbed individuals, the kind of sociopaths who indiscriminately slash tires. Some may be written in a more formalized way by members of organized crime families or foreign terrorist groups. And some are intended as "good viruses" to delete other viruses but may inadvertently cause harm, for instance, by deleting a vital system file by mistake.

Viruses may be written from scratch by programmers. Or they may be created with virus-writing kits, requiring no programming knowledge. Some virus writers write viruses for the intellectual challenge, never intending to release them. Some of these viruses get released accidentally. Websites and online chat rooms exist where virus writers ask questions, trade tricks, and boast of their exploits.

The first line of defense against viruses, as with every potential computer disaster, is to make regular backups of the vital data stored on your hard drive. Ideally, you should periodically do this to a medium that’s not continuously connected and accessible, to prevent a virus from infecting it too.

The next safety step is to use antivirus software. Top programs include Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus, available separately or as part of other Symantec products (www.symantec.com); and McAfee VirusScan (www.mcafee.com), also available separately or as part of a larger suite of other products. Antivirus programs scan relevant files looking for the specific programming code or signatures of known viruses. They also look for common behaviors of viruses. To avoid conflicts, you should use only one antivirus program at a time. Another excellent program, which can be used in conjunction with antivirus and other security programs, is Spybot Search & Destroy (www.safer-networking.org). This program removes spyware and other malware. It’s a superb example of international altruistic entrepreneurship. The program was written and is supported by German software engineer Patrick Kolla and the volunteers who work with him, and it’s distributed by Kolla’s Irish company Safer Networking Ltd. The program, which has won many awards for its effectiveness, is free for noncommercial use, supported by donations. The fees for corporate use depend on the size of your network.

Also, when protecting yourself with the above software shields, be careful about e-mail attachments. Don’t open any from people you don’t know. If you receive an attachment from someone you do know but weren’t expecting it, contact the sender to verify that the person actually intended to send it. It’s also important to keep your operating system up to date, ideally directing it to download bug fixes and other updates automatically. It’s equally important to keep your antivirus and other security software up to date by doing the same.

Reid Goldsborough is a syndicated columnist and author of the book Straight Talk About the Information Superhighway. He can be reached at reidgold@netaxs.com or at www.netaxs.com/~reidgold/column.

COPYRIGHT 2008 OfficeVision, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

During 2005-2006, nine measles virus (MV) genotypes were identified throughout the World Health Organization European Region. All major epidemics were associated with genotypes D4, D6, and B3. Other genotypes (B2, D5, D8, D9, G2, and H1) were only found in limited numbers of cases after importation from other continents. The genetic diversity of endemic D6 strains was low; genotypes C2 and D7, circulating in Europe until recent years, were no longer identified. The transmission chains of several indigenous MV strains may thus have been interrupted by enhanced vaccination. However, multiple importations from Africa and Asia and virus introduction into highly mobile and unvaccinated communities caused a massive spread of D4 and B3 strains throughout much of the region. Thus, despite the reduction of endemic MV circulation, importation of MV from other continents caused prolonged circulation and large outbreaks after their introduction into unvaccinated and highly mobile communities.

**********

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a goal of eliminating measles in the WHO European Region by 2010. The region extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, including all western and eastern European countries and the former Soviet Republics (online Appendix Table, available from www.cdc.gov/EID/content/14/1/107-appT. htm). After the separation of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, the number of countries in the WHO European Region increased from 52 to 53. Within a well-performing case-based nationwide surveillance system, countries with a goal of elimination are expected to reach <l confirmed measles case per million population per year. To reach this goal countries are expected to achieve measles vaccination coverage of at least 95% with the first dose and at least 80% with the second (1). From 1995 through 2005, the number of countries in the WHO European Region that reported >95% coverage with a first dose of measles-containing vaccine increased from 18 (35.3%) of 51 to 31 (59.6%) of 52. In 2005 and 2006, however, at least 40% and 55%, respectively, of the member states had a measles incidence that was above the elimination threshold (online Appendix Table). A total of 36,426 and 55,578 measles cases, including 14 and 9 fatal cases, were reported in 2005 and 2006, respectively (online Appendix Table). Thus, measles continues to affect a large number of persons, despite enhanced vaccination strategies.

The pattern of measles virus (MV) genotypes, in combination with epidemiologic investigation, contributes to understanding measles transmission and helps distinguish between continuous circulation and importation and limited transmission of the viruses in a certain region (2,3). Genotype C2 has been continuously detected in the European Region since the early 1970s and is therefore considered to be the indigenous genotype of Europe (4,5). D6 viruses have been regularly reported from different countries of the European Region since the early 1990s (4-12), and genotype D6-associated outbreaks or sporadic cases on other continents were mostly due to MV importations from Europe (13-15) (Figure 1). These observations thus provide overwhelming evidence for the endemic circulation of genotype D6 in Europe at least during the past 15 years. Measles cases in the European Region associated with other genotypes were mostly due to virus importation from other continents

Methods

Laboratory case confirmation and MV genotyping have increased significantly since the establishment of a global laboratory network for measles and rubella in 2000 (16). During 2005-2006, MV genotypes were identified in 25 of the 53 member states of the WHO European Region (online Appendix Table). Most epidemics and sustained transmissions were associated with genotypes D6, D4, and B3 viruses (online Appendix Figure 1, available from www. cdc.gov/EID/content/14/1/107-appGl.htm). All strains were genotyped by sequencing the 450 nt that code for the C-terminus of the MV N protein (hypervariable region [HVR]), as recommended by WHO (17). Sequencing was performed in different laboratories of the WHO laboratory network for measles and rubella.

Results

Genotype D6

During 2005-2006, genotype D6 viruses were reported from 17 of the 53 countries in the WHO European Region. The overall diversity between these viruses was relatively low (Figure 2), with a maximum genetic distance of 7 nt (1.6%) in the HVR of the N gene. Two main variants, D6-2000 and D6-2005, differing by a single point mutation, accounted for most of genotype D6-associated cases and outbreaks.

The D6-2000 variant was predominant in the Russian Federation throughout 2005 and early 2006 (Figure 2) and was also detected in neighboring Kazakhstan (2006) and Uzbekistan (2006). Moreover, the D6-2000 strain caused outbreaks in Germany (March 2005-July 2005) (18) and Greece (September 2005-May 2006) (19) and was found in sporadic cases in Denmark (2005), Israel (2005, after importation from Georgia), and Switzerland (2006) (Figure 2). Because the same variant was reported throughout 2000-2005 from different European countries (Figure 1), the cases in 2005 and 2006 were most probably due to endemic transmission of MV in the European Region.

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

BACKGROUND: Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the major cause of cervical cancer. Use of HPV genotyping in cervical screening programs and for monitoring the effectiveness of HPV vaccination programs requires access to economical, high-throughput technology.

METHODS: We used the Sequenom MassARRAY platform to develop a high-throughput mass spectrometric (MS) method for detecting 14 specific oncogenic HPV genotypes in multiplex PCR products. We compared results from 532 cervical cell samples to the comparison method, reverse dot blot hybridization (RDBH).

RESULTS: The MS method detected all …

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Information provided by: Findarticles.com