Malaria in Greece, 1975 to 2010.

Malaria, which was endemic in Greece in the past, was officially eliminated in 1974. Since that time and up to 2010, a number of imported cases (ranging from 19 to 76) have been annually reported. The total number of reported laboratory-confirmed cases between 1975 and 2010 was 1,419. Plasmodium falciparum was identified in 628 (44%) of these cases, while P. vivax was found in 524 (37%). Of the total cases, 1,123 (79%) were male (ratio males vs. females: 3.78). Age was only available for 490 cases, of which 352 (72%) belonged to the 18-40 year-age group. Of the 382 malaria cases reported from 1999 to 2010 for which the region/country of acquisition was known, 210 (55%) were from Africa and 142 (37%) from Asia. The massive introduction of economic migrants, in the period from 1990 to 1991 and from 2006 onwards, mainly from countries where malaria is endemic, resulted in the appearance of introduced sporadic cases. In Peloponnese, Central and East Macedonia, Thrace and East Attica, mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles (e.g. Anopheles sacharovi, A. superpictus and A. maculipenis) that can act as plasmodia vectors are abundant and during the summer of 2011, 27 P. vivax cases were reported in Greek citizens residing in the agricultural area of Evrotas in Lakonia and without travel history. As further P. vivax malaria cases occurred in the Lakonia and East Attica areas in 2012, it is becoming urgent to strengthen surveillance and perform integrated mosquito control that will help eliminate the potential risk of malaria reintroduction and reestablishment.

Alpha 1-antitrypsin and survival in pancreatic cancer.

The association between serum levels of alpha 1-antitrypsin (a1AT) at the time of diagnosis and survival was studied in a group of 44 patients with confirmed pancreas cancer. All 44 patients were followed until time of death, which occurred in all cases from pancreas cancer, with a median time of 3 months and a range of 0.5 to 16 months. Cox's proportional hazards model was utilized in the analysis controlling for sex, age and tobacco smoking. Males, older patients and smokers have higher fatality rates, but none of these relations was statistically significant. By contrast, there was a statistically highly significant association of increased levels of serum a1AT, at the time of diagnosis of the cancer of pancreas, with shorter survival; patients with serum a1AT higher by 100mg/100ml had a 57% higher fatality rate. These results indicate that serum a1AT represents a clinically interesting prognostic factor in pancreas cancer.

Induction of cell-mediated immunity to HBsAg polypeptides.

Adult male guinea pigs were immunized with hepatitis B virus polypeptides prepared by Triton X-100 solubilization of purified 22-nm hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) particles. A virus-specific subunit containing both the 28,000 molecular weight glycoprotein and the 23,000 molecular weight protein stimulated both cell-mediated and humoral immunity. A whole-blood-cell transformation assay additionally showed that the 64,000 molecular weight component of HBsAg, previously shown to contain host-specific antigens, also stimulated a cellular response to purified intact HBsAg particles, suggesting the additional presence of virus-specific material in this fraction. Immunization of animals with the 28,000--23,000 molecular weight polypeptides subsequently prepared in micelle form enhanced the demonstration of a cell-mediated reaction after only a single dose of immunogen. The results provide further evidence as to the suitability of HBsAg polypeptides prepared by Triton X-100 solubilization for hepatitis B prophylaxis.

[Antimeningococcal antibodies in healthy mothers and their newborn (author's transl)]. / Anticorps antiméningococciques chez la mère et le nouveau-né.

Blood specimen from 180 healthy mothers and their newborn were obtained during the delivery for the evaluation of placental transfer of anti-A, anti-B and anti-C antimeningococcal antibodies. The detection of titration of antibodies were performed by passive haemagglutination. Anti-A antibodies were found in 22%, anti-B in 64%, and anti-C in 30% of the mothers. In the newborns the corresponding proportions were 4.5%, 50% and 28%. For anti-A and anti-B antibodies a moderate positive correlation was found between the titre in mothers and their newborn. For anti-A antibodies, titres were generally low among both mothers and newborn and passive transfer was found in only 20%. For anti-B antibodies, titres were higher among both mothers and their newborn. Titre in newborn was as a rule lower than the corresponding titre of mother. Placental transfer of anti-B antibodies was high (78%). Finally, a strong positive correlation between the titre of mothers and their newborn was found for anti-C antibodies. Titres were usually similar in mothers and newborns and the placental transfer of anti-C antibodies was practically free (93%).

Prevalence of hepatitis B antigen and antibody in prostitutes.

We investigated the prevalence of hepatitis B antigen (HBAg) and antibody (HBAb) in 293 prostitutes and in 379 pregnant women of similar age and of low socioeconomic level, who served as controls. HBAg was found in 4.4% of prostitutes and 3.4% of controls. The prevalence of HBAb was significantly higher (P <0.001) in prostitutes (56.7%) than in controls (24.5%). The prevalence of HBAb was clearly age-dependent in both groups. Evidence of hepatitis B virus infection significantly increased with the number of years in prostitution. The evidence of increased infection rates among prostitutes and their distribution support the hypothesis that hepatitis B infection is sexually transmitted.