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Biomedical subjects

H J van der Kaay

Publications and source records attributed to H J van der Kaay.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[A return of endemic malaria to the Netherlands is highly unlikely].

The Netherlands has been free from malaria since the early 1960, due to a combination of factors: active search and treatment of patients and parasite carriers, targeted use of insecticides, changes in farming and in housing of man and cattle, pollution of surface water with phosphates and the fact that surface waters became fresher. These factors reduced the mosquito population that is dependent on brackish water. The Dutch malaria mosquito cannot transmit the parasite of tropical malaria. The mosquito population could possibly increase due to measures to 'develop nature' but the number of parasite carriers, the acute disease manifestations, the quality and organization of the health care system make it extremely unlikely that local transmission will occur. Fears that malaria may become endemic and that the population in the western parts of the country will have to apply malaria chemoprophylaxis in the near future, are unfounded.

Animals↗

The El Niño Southern Oscillation and the historic malaria epidemics on the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka: an early warning system for future epidemics?

The recurrent great malaria epidemics which occurred in the Punjab province of former British India and Ceylon before the introduction of residual insecticides have been related to excessive and failing monsoon rains respectively. In the arid Punjab, rainfall facilitated breeding and increased the lifespan of the mosquito vector and, in the wet part of Ceylon, failing monsoon rains caused rivers to pool, creating more favourable breeding conditions. The periodic fluctuations in monsoon rainfall and epidemic malaria are here explained in relation to the El Niño Southern Oscillation. In the Punjab, epidemic malaria between 1868 and 1943 correlates significantly (r = 0.34, P < 0.005) with the sea surface temperature anomalies in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific, a parameter of the oscillation, and epidemics were significantly more prevalent in a year with a wet monsoon following a dry El Niño year than in other years. In Ceylon, epidemics were significantly more prevalent during El Niño years, when the same south-west monsoon tends to fail. With the reduced reliance on residual insecticides and the recurrence of epidemic malaria on the Indian subcontinent, advances made in predicting El Niño events may be used to forecast high and low risk years for future malaria epidemics.

Disease Outbreaks↗

Falciparum malaria and climate change in the northwest frontier province of Pakistan.

Following a striking increase in the severity of autumnal outbreaks of Plasmodium falciparum during the last decade in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan, the role of climatologic variables was investigated. A multivariate analysis showed that during the transmission season of P. falciparum, the amount of rainfall in September and October, the temperature in November and December, and the humidity in December were all correlated (r2 = 0.82) with two measures of P. falciparum, the falciparum rate (percent of slides examined positive for P. falciparum) since 1981 and the annual P. falciparum proportion (percent of all malaria infections diagnosed as P. falciparum) since 1978. Climatologic records since 1876 show an increase in mean November and December temperatures by 2 degrees C and 1.5 degrees C, respectively, and in October rainfall. Mean humidity in December has also been increasing since 1950. These climatologic changes in the area appear to have made conditions for transmission of P. falciparum more favorable, and may account for the increase in incidence observed in the NWFP in recent years.

Animals↗

The consequences of malaria infection in pregnant women and their infants.

Preliminary results are presented from this study which indicate that 84.8% of pregnant women present at first antenatal visit with anemia (Hb 11g/dl) an 8.7% of their infants (n = 230) have a hemoglobin at birth below 14g/dl. There is an association between pregnancy anemia and malaria. A case control study in pregnant women and an infant cohort study to 18 months of age, are employed to study the cause and effects of anemia and malaria on women and their infants health.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

A comparison of amodiaquine and chloroquine in the treatment therapy of falciparum malaria in Kenya.

During June to August 1989, 158 symptomatic outpatients with P. falciparum malaria were randomly treated with either amodiaquine or chloroquine 25 mg/kg, divided over three days. Amodiaquine (Camoquin, Parke-Davis) was significantly more effective in terms of the rate of parasite clearance, 2.4 versus 3.1 days; parasite clearance day 7; 87% versus 41%; and clinical amelioration, 98% versus 68%. Moreover, this study demonstrates the lack of therapeutic toxicity of amodiaquine. Globally, tolerance was better with amodiaquine than with chloroquine; in particular, cutaneous side effects were less frequent with amodiaquine. There was no evidence of granulocyte or gross hepatic toxicity. These results suggest that WHO recommendations concerning amodiaquine should be questioned. In view of its low cost, demonstrated efficacy and lack of proven therapeutic toxicity, amodiaquine should be considered as a viable replacement for chloroquine in areas with high levels of clinical chloroquine failure.

Adolescent↗

Flow cytometric screening of blood samples for malaria parasites.

An automated method for the detection and estimation of malaria parasites in blood samples using flow cytometry is presented. In a single-step procedure 50 microliters of blood sample was collected in 1 ml of lysis solution containing formaldehyde, causing red blood cells to lyse while parasites and white blood cells are preserved. Thus prepared, samples could be transported and remained stored in lysis solution until flow cytometric analysis was performed. The cells were stained for DNA with the fluorescent dye Hoechst 33258 and subsequently analyzed by a FACStar flow cytometer. Parasites and white blood cells were distinguished and counted based on blue Hoechst fluorescence and forward scattering. Since red blood cells were lysed, parasite numbers were given related to the number of white blood cells similar to what is done in microscopic examination of thick blood smears. In dilution experiments with animal and human material, parasite counts by flow cytometry correlated very well with the theoretically calculated numbers (regression coefficients of > 0.94). In human material parasitemias of approximately 0.005% were detected. In a pilot study, 700 samples were collected in Thailand and screened by microscopic examination of thick smears and by flow cytometry; 29 were found positive by combining both methods, 2 were missed by flow cytometry, and 20 were missed by microscopists in the field. After microscopic reexamination in the central laboratory, 15 of these 20 were found positive, 5 remained unconfirmed.

Animals↗

A study of the consequences of malarial infection in pregnant women and their infants.

An outline is given of a field research study to be undertaken in Malawi to investigate the pattern and consequences of malaria in pregnancy and infants. The central question to be investigated is whether babies born to anaemic mothers in malarious areas are at increased risk of developing anaemia or altered risk for morbidity from malaria or develop anaemia in the first year of life. The framework for the case control and cohort study to be undertaken is outlined.

Anemia↗

[Cutaneous leishmaniasis in 49 patients in The Netherlands].

In a retrospective study the data concerning 49 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis were analysed. The group included 39 patients seen in Amsterdam in the period 1979-1988 in the Royal Institute for the Tropics and the University Medical Centre and 10 patients seen in the University Hospital of Leiden in the period 1970-1982. Mediterranean countries, especially Spain, were important sources of infection. In 26 patients, one skin lesion was found. All but one of the patients had (papulo)nodules, nodules with central scab formation and/or ulcerative skin lesions. In most cases the lesions were localized on the face and extremities, one patient had a mucosal lesion of the nose, three had sporotrichoid extension and six, lymphadenitis. For demonstration of the parasite, aspiration, smear, biopsy and culture were used with varying frequencies. The biopsy and culture methods contributed most to the diagnosis. The treatment in 22 patients consisted in parenteral administration of sodium stibogluconate while 13 received primary cryotherapy. In addition, four patients were subjected to cryotherapy because of a recurrence after, or side effects of the treatment with sodium stibogluconate. In three patients, spontaneous healing was awaited. Owing to incomplete follow-up, the ultimate condition was not known of all patients; the skin lesions treated with cryotherapy all healed. In case of nodular and ulcerative skin lesions in a person who has lived in the (sub)tropics, cutaneous leishmaniasis should be considered; the geographical anamnesis is of great importance in this respect.

Adult↗