Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
1995-6-6
pubmed:abstractText
Foamy viruses (FVs) persist in healthy individuals of various mammalian species, including nonhuman primates. Laboratory markers of FV infection are (1) virus in throat epithelium or peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs), (2) proviral DNA sequences in PBLs and various solid organs, and (3) antibodies reactive to viral antigens on Western blots, in radioimmunoprecipitation tests, and in immunofluorescence assays. Using PCR and serological tests, we readily detected FV markers in naturally infected African green monkeys, rhesus monkeys, and chimpanzees, as well as in accidentally infected humans. Transmission of simian foamy viruses to humans (by bite or inadvertent laboratory infection) leads to viral markers, without affecting the recipient. Reports on FV-associated clinical disorders (e.g., thyroid or neurological) have remained controversial. In this study we failed to detect, by PCR, viral sequences in the samples from 223 patients, including 16 HIV-infected Africans, 46 Graves' disease patients, and 28 patients with the de Quervain's thyroiditis. Evaluation of 2688 sera from suspected high-risk areas (e.g., Central and East Africa, or high-risk groups such as HIV-infected individuals and patients with AIDS, thyroid, and neurological disorders) did not reveal FV-specific antibodies in a single case. Previously reported FV seroprevalence in various populations has never been verified by appropriate confirmatory tests. The strain of "human foamy virus" has remained a unique isolate. In conclusion, FVs are unlikely--at present--to circulate in human populations.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
0889-2229
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
11
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
161-70
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1995
pubmed:articleTitle
Markers of foamy virus infections in monkeys, apes, and accidentally infected humans: appropriate testing fails to confirm suspected foamy virus prevalence in humans.
pubmed:affiliation
Abteilung Virologie, University of Freiburg, Germany.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't