| 摘要 |
2109603 9220787 PCTABS00017 The present invention relates generally to methods for diagnosing chronic fatigue syndrome and certain other neurological, psychiatric, rheumatological and other stealth virus associated diseases in humans and in animals. Tissue culture and molecular probe based methods for the screening of stealth viral infection are described. The methods are applicable to the diagnosis of stealth virus infection in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and with various atypical neurological, psychiatric, rheumatological, liver, testicular, salivary gland and other diseases. The methods are also applicable to the detection and the monitoring of naturally infected and experimentally infected animals. Isolates obtained by culture from infected human and animal sources can be used in the development and testing of therapeutic modalities to help in the treatment and prevention of spread of viral infection. The viral detection assays can be applied to the pre-clinical and clinical moinitoring of potential therapy and also to the detection of possible sources of infection, including human to human contact, blood products, domestic pets, farm animals, uncooked foods, vaccines and environmental sources. The isolates can also be used to improve upon the present detection methods, principally through the construction of synthetic antigens based upon the nucleotide sequences of the virus. Antigens produced either synthetically or by recombinant DNA technology, can be used as vaccines to prevent infection and as reagents to monitor immunological responses. A toxin associated with stealth virus, an antiviral composition comprising the toxin, and methods of monitoring disease state based on detecting the level of toxin or its toxic activity are described.
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