The basis for the effective treatment and cure of a patient is the rapid diagnosis of the disease and its causative agent, which is based on the analysis of the clinical symptoms coupled with laboratory tests. Although rapid advance ments have been made in the laboratory diagnosis of virus diseases, the neces sary isolation of the causative virus from the clinical specimens is a relatively long procedure. Viruses which integrate into the cellular DNA (such as human immunodeficiency virus, HIV -1, or hepatitis B virus) are difficult to identify by molecular techniques, while viruses which exist in the clinical material in low concentrations are even more formidable to identify. Recently, the application of the polymerase chain reaction (peR) technique developed by K. D. Mullis and detailed in the study by Saiki et al. (1985) led to a revolution in virus diagnosis. The peR technique was rapidly applied to the diagnosis of viruses in clinical material. Volume 1 of Frontiers of Virology provides new information on the advan tages of the use of the peR for the diagnosis of many human disease-causing viruses, as well as on some problems with its use."

In this book the current knowledge on human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) as a human pathogen is lucidly summarized, bringing the reader fully up to date with current knowledge concerning HCMV and all the known clincial and medical aspects of diseases caused by, and associated with, HCMV. The book is divided into four parts: (I) Human cytomegalovirus and human diseases; (II) human cytomegalovirus infections and the immunocompromised host; (III) diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of human cytomegalovirus and human diseases; and (IV) molecular aspects of human cytomegalovirus. Each part is put together from chapters written by experts in the respective fields, providing basic medical and molecular knowledge in addition to more specific understanding of HCMV infections.

Fish lymphocystis disease virus (FLDV) has been tentatively classified as a separate genus of the iridovirus family. Iridoviruses were previously called icosahedral cytoplasmic deoxyriboviruses (ICDV). The Iridoviridae family contains four genera including lymphocystis disease virus (proposed name Lymphocystivirus, Willis, 1989 (1". FLDV is a causative agent of lymphocystis disease (LD) which frequently appears in Pleuronectidae (flatfish) such as Pleuronectes platessa (plaice), Platichtys flesus (flounder), Limanda limanda (dab), and Trigla gurnardus (gurnard). Fish lymphocystis disease is characterized by papilloma-like lesions, which can be induced experimentally in Lepomis macrochirus (bluegill) (2) and by subdermal injection of plaice and flounder (3). The mechanisms of this nonmalignant tumor induction are unknown. Since the discovery of LD in 1874 by Lowe (4), attempts have been made to isolate and propagate FLDV in vitro with limited success (5-7). As a first step towards understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this infectious disease the structure and properties of the causal virus must be eluciated. These basical molecular biological studies provide new facilities for investigation of virus host interactions which is necessary for understanding the molecular mechanisms of the viral pathogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 30 fish with LD lesions caught near the Doggerbank areas were analyzed individually, including 20 flounders, six dabs, and four plaice. Virions of FLDV from LD lesions of each species of fish were isolated, purified, and examined by electron microscopy as 205 described previously (8). Fig.

Six members of the Herpesviridae family are human pathogens, including herpes and 2 (HSV-I and 2), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), varicella zoster simplex virus I virus (VZV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV 6). Each of these viruses is capable of causing distinct diseases of varying severity in children, young adults, and the aged. The diseases range from infection of epithelial tissue to the infection of internal organs and white blood cells. A common feature of the six pathogenic human herpesviruses is their ability to latently infect different cell types in which the viral DNA is not integrated and is unable to express its pathogenicity. Reactivation of the herpesviruses is a result of cellular processes which reactivate viral genes, leading to virus progeny and to signs of infection. Due to their ability to become latent after initial infection, once the pathogenic herpesviruses infect children they are maintained throughout life, having the potential of cause various diseases upon reactivation.

The influence of basic science, particularly molecular biology, in human and veterinary medicine revolutionized thinking in many aspects and changed fundamentally and creatively the classical strategy for research and prevention of infectious diseases. Genetic engineering and related disciplines have progressed to a remarkable degree over the last decade and now form the keystone supporting medicine. These are strong and efficient instruments for health and disease oriented research and their application gives the opportunity to receive more answers and not only more questions. The prime objective of this book is to create new knowledge within the medical disciplines and inspire colleagues working in this field with the unity and unambiguous importance of this science and its technologies for identifying, clarifying and planning new strategies for curing and preventing disease. This book contains original studies on the molecular biology of animal viruses. Some of the viruses discussed in this book are also hazardous to man. In this light it can be considered as a contribution to modern education on the human infectious diseases. From this point of view the book contains a chapter on Hantaan virus that causes no detectable disease in animals but hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome has been attributed to infection of humans by this virus.

Fish lymphocystis disease virus (FLDV) has been tentatively classified as a separate genus of the iridovirus family. Iridoviruses were previously called icosahedral cytoplasmic deoxyriboviruses (ICDV). The Iridoviridae family contains four genera including lymphocystis disease virus (proposed name Lymphocystivirus, Willis, 1989 (1". FLDV is a causative agent of lymphocystis disease (LD) which frequently appears in Pleuronectidae (flatfish) such as Pleuronectes platessa (plaice), Platichtys flesus (flounder), Limanda limanda (dab), and Trigla gurnardus (gurnard). Fish lymphocystis disease is characterized by papilloma-like lesions, which can be induced experimentally in Lepomis macrochirus (bluegill) (2) and by subdermal injection of plaice and flounder (3). The mechanisms of this nonmalignant tumor induction are unknown. Since the discovery of LD in 1874 by Lowe (4), attempts have been made to isolate and propagate FLDV in vitro with limited success (5-7). As a first step towards understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this infectious disease the structure and properties of the causal virus must be eluciated. These basical molecular biological studies provide new facilities for investigation of virus host interactions which is necessary for understanding the molecular mechanisms of the viral pathogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 30 fish with LD lesions caught near the Doggerbank areas were analyzed individually, including 20 flounders, six dabs, and four plaice. Virions of FLDV from LD lesions of each species of fish were isolated, purified, and examined by electron microscopy as 205 described previously (8). Fig.

The influence of basic science, particularly molecular biology, in human and veterinary medicine revolutionized thinking in many aspects and changed fundamentally and creatively the classical strategy for research and prevention of infectious diseases. Genetic engineering and related disciplines have progressed to a remarkable degree over the last decade and now form the keystone supporting medicine. These are strong and efficient instruments for health and disease oriented research and their application gives the opportunity to receive more answers and not only more questions. The prime objective of this book is to create new knowledge within the medical disciplines and inspire colleagues working in this field with the unity and unambiguous importance of this science and its technologies for identifying, clarifying and planning new strategies for curing and preventing disease. This book contains original studies on the molecular biology of animal viruses. Some of the viruses discussed in this book are also hazardous to man. In this light it can be considered as a contribution to modern education on the human infectious diseases. From this point of view the book contains a chapter on Hantaan virus that causes no detectable disease in animals but hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome has been attributed to infection of humans by this virus.

The continuous growth of knowledege makes it very difficult for scientists to retrieve comprehensive and accurate data on viruses. The desired information is often dispersed in a variety of books, journals and online resources. This encyclopedia presents the latest facts about all known virus in a standardized form created by hundreds of the world's leading virologists.

Virus taxonomy represents the basic framework that allows an understanding of the complex evolutionary process that continuously takes place among viruses and their hosts. Each of the 300 taxonomically ordered chapters includes detailed information on individual genus members, historical events, the hosts they can affect (animal, man or plant), virion morphology, genome properties, replication strategy, properties of individual transcripts and proteins, sequence accession numbers, biological properties, diseases, recombinant vector constructs, vaccine strains, key references, as well as a high-resolution particle image and a drawing of the genome organization. Its high content of easily accessible detail information makes this Encyclopedia an indispensable tool for both researchers and lecturers. The new edition includes the recent discoveries made in this field as well as new viruses which have been discovered.