Publications

Intrachromosomal telomeric sequences (TTAGGG)n were analyzed in the two members of the family Giraffidae, the giraffe and the okapi. The giraffe has a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 30, whereas the okapi chromosome number varies from 2n = 46 to 2n = 45 and 2n = 44 due to a ''recent'' Robertsonian fusion event. The interstitial telomeres that we detected in these species are of two types: (1) In the okapi, a long interstitial telomeric element ...

We isolated a divergent simian T-lymphotropic virus (STLV) (strain PP1664) from a wild-caught African bonobo (pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus). Molecular and phylogenetic characterization of this virus show that it reliably separates from the two well-established primate T-lymphotropic virus types, HTLV-I/STLV-I (PTLV-I) and PTLV-II, and from a third type isolated from an African-born Papio hamadryas and designated by us as PTLV-L. Four of eight ...

The occurrence of C. neoformans was studied in 261 aviaries at the Antwerp Zoological Gardens during 1985. Droppings of parrots and budgerigars were the most important and constant source of this pathogenic yeast. C. neoformans was also isolated from wooden nesting-boxes.

One patient with hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive chronic aggressive hepatitis, and two chimpanzee carriers of HBsAg, were each given seven doses of 107 I.U. of human fibroblast interferon over two weeks. The main difference observed after treatment was a depression of the nucleocapsid hepatitis-B core antigen in the liver, indicating that hepatitis-B virus infection is sensitive to interferon. Except for a short febrile reaction, no ...