Incidence of T activation in a hospital population.

The incidence of T activation in a hospital population has been studied. T poly-agglutinability likely to cause serological problems was found in only 1:10,000 but minor degrees of T activation occurred in 1:200. In a number of cases, severe infections were accompanied by T activation, but we were unable to establish any primary association between T activation and anaemia. The findings suggested that individuals whose erythrocyte sialic acid levels are slightly lower than normal are those who, when hospital patients, are likely to develop various degrees of T activation.