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To the Editor: Toscana virus (TOSV) is an arthropod-borne RNA virus (family Bunyaviridae and genus Phlebovirus) transmitted by sandflies in Mediterranean countries. TOSV causes acute meningitis and meningoencephalitis in patients. [...]

The DNA-based assays are employed to analyze the frequency of Kell, Kidd, MNS, Dombrock, Colton, and Yt blood group systems in the French Basques. Some variances regarding the six blood systems as compared to molecular typing with serology are found.

Duffy, a blood group antigen, can be used to represent models for population genetic studies. With the help of a polymerase chain reaction, the distribution of Duffy blood group was identified in a sample survey in the French Basque country.

To the Editor: Gyroviruses (GyVs) are naked, single-stranded DNA viruses that were described in chickens in 1979 (1). Chicken anemia virus (CAV), initially the sole member of the genus Gyrovirus [...]

To the Editor: KIs-V is a new putative virus identified recently in the blood of persons in Japan (1). First partial sequence of KIs-V was characterized unexpectedly, when PCR primers [...]

To the Editor: In the past few years, several novel parvoviruses have been identified, including human parvovirus B19-related strains V9 and A6, and bocavirus. In 2005, parvovirus 4 (PARV4), a [...]

To the Editor: Human parvovirus 4 (PARV4) is a recently identified virus, distantly related to already known members of the family Parvoviridae that affect humans and animals. Initially, PARV4 was [...]

In transfusion medicine, anti-Jka has been implicated in hemolytic transfusion reactions. Development of anti-Jka after transfusion does not always occur after Jk(a–) patients receive at least 1 unit of Jk(a+) blood unit. This study was designed to identify HLA-DRB1 alleles associated with predisposition to Jka immunization after blood transfusion or pregnancy.Genotyping by polymerase chain reaction and sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe nonradioactive hybridization/sequence-specific primers was performed in 20 Jka-immunized patients and 200 controls from the same southern European population.Genotyping showed that HLA-DRB1*01 was significantly more frequent in Jka-immunized patients than controls: 55 percent versus 17 percent (odds ratio[OR], 5.9; confidence interval[CI], 2.3-15.5; corrected p value < 0.05). Because HLA-DRB1*0101, DRB1*0102, and DRB1*1001 share a common sequence in their B1 chain, that is, F in 13, R in 71, and A in 74, HLA genetic predisposition was analyzed by comparing patients and controls with respect to the distribution of F13/R71/A74-positive and -negative alleles. Results demonstrated greater positivity of the F13/R71/A74 sequence (DRB1*0101,*0102, or*1001) in patients than in controls: 65 percent versus 19.5 percent (OR, 7.7; CI, 2.9-20.5; p < 0.001).In conclusion, HLA-DRB1*0101, DRB1*0102, and DRB1*1001, which share a common DRB1 sequence, appeared to be overrepresented in Jka-immunized patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]