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Biomedical subjects

F S Mhalu

Publications and source records attributed to F S Mhalu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Seroepidemiological correlations of antibodies to human herpesviruses and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in African patients.

A seroepidemiological evaluation of the humoral immune response against human herpes viruses was carried out in patients with and without HIV infection in Tanzania to study the role of these viruses as a cofactor in AIDS. Serum specimens were obtained from 321 outpatients and 100 healthy schoolchildren of a rural population in the Kagera Region, Tanzania, and from 149 inpatients of an urban population in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The data were analysed by logistic models taking into account demographic variables. The data obtained revealed no differences in the prevalence of antibodies to human herpes viruses between the different groups. Therefore, our study under the present conditions and the observed stages of AIDS does not suggest an influence of HIV infection on human herpesvirus infection or serologic response.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

Prevalence of HIV-1 infection and symptomatology of AIDS in severely malnourished children in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 200 children with severe malnutrition and controls matched for age, sex, and area of residence were screened for serological evidence of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) over 5 months in 1988. The prevalence of HIV-1 antibodies in the malnourished group was 25.5% (51 of 200) compared with 1.5% (three of 200) in the controls. The seroprevalence rate was equally high in malnourished children above the age of 18 months (26 of 102; 25.5%), as in those below this age (25 of 98; 25.5%). The prevalence rate was higher in children with marasmus (38.2%) as compared to children with marasmic-kwashiorkor (12.3%) or kwashiorkor (12.2%). The prevalence of clinical features known to be associated with AIDS was higher in the HIV seropositive malnourished children as compared to the seronegative children. The modified World Health Organization clinical case definition of AIDS in children was also evaluated and found to have a low sensitivity and positive predictive value (62.8 and 57.1%, respectively) but a fairly high specificity (83.9%). It is recommended to routinely rule out HIV infection in malnourished children, especially those with marasmus.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

Inter-relationships between HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The HIV is a typical sexually transmitted disease (STD) agent which depends for its transmission through sex on contact between raw body tissues of infected and uninfected individuals independent of sexual inclination. The dynamics of HIV transmission and its control in a community can be inferred from studying the socio-cultural and epidemiological aspects of acute STD. There is strong evidence to suggest that the main cause of rampant heterosexual transmission of the HIV in sub-Saharan Africa in contrast to the rarer heterosexual HIV transmission in Europe and the USA is the high prevalence of ulcerative STD in Africa. Studying the trend and response to treatment of conventional acute STD are quick and indirect ways of assessing the impact of control measures against AIDS and HIV infection in an HIV endemic area. Further research is needed to determine the extent and detailed mechanism of interaction between HIV infection and other STDs as well as studying the efficacy of AIDS control through control of other STDs.

Africa↗
PubMed1988

AIDS: an international perspective.

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and infection with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) constitute a worldwide public health problem. Whereas in Europe and in most of the Americas transmission of HIV-1 has occurred predominantly among homosexual men and intravenous drug abusers, in Africa a distinct epidemiologic pattern has emerged that indicates that HIV-1 infection is mainly heterosexually acquired. Heterosexual transmission appears to be increasing in some parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, and possibly in the United States. In addition to HIV-1, at least one other human retrovirus, namely HIV-2, has been implicated as a cause of AIDS in Africa and Europe. Factors that influence heterosexual transmission of HIV-1 include genital ulcerations, early or late stages of HIV-1 infection in the index case, and possibly oral contraception and immune activation. The rate of perinatal transmission is enhanced when the mother's illness is more advanced. AIDS and HIV-1 infection may have a significant impact not only on public health, but also on the demography and socioeconomic conditions of some developing countries. Programs for the prevention and control of AIDS should be an immediate priority in all countries.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Prevalence of infection with rotavirus and enteric adenoviruses among children in Tanzania.

The prevalence of rotavirus and enteric adenoviruses was studied by a latex agglutination test in stool samples from 87 children below 36 months of age admitted to the diarrhoea ward of the National Teaching Hospital in Dar es Salaam. Rotavirus was detected in 17 (19.5%) of the samples, while enteric adenoviruses were detected in two (2.3%). The relative frequency of rotavirus diarrhoea was significantly lower than that observed in developed countries. Further, serum samples from healthy donors, 61 school children and 50 adults, were examined for IgG and IgM antibodies. IgG antibodies were found in 73.8% of the children (mean age 9.6 years) and 86% of the adults (mean age 31.2 years). IgM antibodies were not detected. Rotavirus is an important enteropathogen in Tanzania, and the latex agglutination test for rotavirus and adenoviruses is a rapid and reliable diagnostic method.

Adenoviridae Infections↗
PubMed1988

Antibodies to Yersinia enterocolitica in a healthy population in Tanzania.

A micro-agglutination technique was used for the detection of antibodies to Yersinia enterocolitica serogroups 03, 08 and 09 in sera from healthy individuals in Dar es Salaam, including 38 school children and 81 adults. Antibody titres greater than or equal to 128 to serogroup 03 were found in 2.6% of the children and 0.8% of the adults, and to serogroup 09 in 5.3% of the children and 2.5% of the adults. Antibody titres greater than or equal to 128 serogroup 08 were not detected.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Hospital outbreaks of cholera transmitted through close person-to-person contact.

Three hospital outbreaks of cholera which started in a children's infectious diseases ward in Dar es Salaam in 1977/78, 1981, and 1983 were controlled by bacteriological screening and isolation of infected patients, administration of antibacterial chemoprophylaxis to all at-risk patients and their accompanying relatives, and by reducing overcrowding. The outbreaks in 1981 and 1983 were caused by two distinct multiply antibiotic resistant E1 Tor Vibrio cholerae O1 strains. In these three outbreaks overcrowded conditions facilitated person-to-person transmission of cholera within the hospital. Cholera patients should be nursed separately and high standards of hospital hygiene should be maintained. This is one of the first reports of hospital outbreaks of cholera caused by multiply antibiotic resistant strains.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Cholera-like diseases due to Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

The first seven cases of cholera-like disease due to Vibrio parahaemolyticus, acquired mainly through handling of raw fish from the Indian Ocean, in Dar es Salaam are reported. Five of the patients were young women, two of those being fishmongers. The duration of the disease in six of the patients was short leading to recovery within 24 h. One of the patients took 4 days of intensive rehydration therapy before recovery. Whereas V. parahaemolyticus is the commonest cause of food poisoning in Japan where raw or half cooked salt water fish are a common delicacy, the disease in Tanzania where raw fish is almost never eaten, appears to have resulted mainly from poor personal hygiene in handling raw fish. It is recommended that more studies on the problem should be carried out and the public should be educated on the dangers of unhygienic handling of raw fish.

Cholera↗
PubMed1980

Resistance to antimicrobial agents of Vibrio cholerae E1 Tor strains isolated during the fourth cholera epidemic in the United Republic of Tanzania.

Isolates of Vibrio cholerae obtained immediately after the outbreak of the fourth recorded epidemic of cholera in the United Republic of Tanzania were sensitive to tetracycline, but after five months of its extensive therapeutic and prophylactic use, 76% of the isolates were observed to be resistant to this and other antimicrobial agents. The appearance of resistance was found to be due to the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance plasmids belonging to the C incompatibility complex. Although most plasmid incompatibility groups have been shown to be unstable in V. cholerae, the strains found in the present epidemic seem to carry a plasmid belonging to one of the few relatively stable groups. These findings emphasize the importance of monitoring any emergence of bacterial resistance that may occur when mass prophylaxis programmes are in operation and also the importance of determining the genetic basis of the resistance mechanism.

Alanine↗