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Biomedical subjects

L M De Silva

Publications and source records attributed to L M De Silva.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Clinical severity of respiratory syncytial virus group A and B infection in Sydney, Australia.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has two major antigenic groups, A and B. There is disagreement as to whether or not there is a difference in the clinical severity of disease caused by the two RSV groups. This 3-year prospective study of infants and children with RSV-positive bronchiolitis examines the relative virulence of RSV Groups A and B and assesses the role that breast-feeding may have in modifying the clinical severity of infection. Clinical severity was graded I (ventilated, severe), II (oxygen therapy, moderate), III (no ventilation or oxygen, mild). RSV serogrouping was performed. After exclusion of 60 subjects with known predisposing factors for severity, 444 infants and children were studied (Group A, 337; Group B, 107). The difference in proportion of subjects with severity grade I and II with Group A compared with Group B infection was 6% (95% confidence interval, 4.7 to 16.7). For infants 0 to 6 months of age this difference was 5.6% (95% CI, 7.3 to 18.4). Nineteen cases were nosocomially transmitted. There was a predominance of Group A RSV infection but no difference in severity between Group A and Group B infection.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1989

Giant parapox infection in a two year old child.

We report the case of a two year old boy who developed a large tumour on his face. The lesion resembled a pyogenic granuloma clinically and histologically. Viral studies indicated a parapox infection and a bovine source was supported on epidemiological grounds. The lesion was removed by shave excision and the area healed without significant scarring.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Respiratory syncytial virus: a report of a 5-year study at a children's hospital.

A study over a 5-year period (1979-1983) of RSV infections in children in Sydney, Australia is reported. In common with findings made elsewhere in the world, annual epidemics of RSV infection commencing in autumn and lasting 4-6 months, with peak activity in mid-winter, were observed in 1979, 1980, and 1983. However, in 1981 and 1982 virus activity was first detected in midsummer, peaked in autumn, and was present throughout most months of the year. The alteration in virus activity in 1981 and 1982 was not associated with changes restricted to these 2 years in factors such as the age groups or sex ratio of patients affected or in the clinical categories predominantly affected. A study of climatic variables, however, indicated unusually low rainfall in 3 of 4 years encompassing this period. Study over a longer period is indicated to determine if these observed alterations in seasonal activity of RSV will be repeated in future years. Any possible relationship of such a change to rainfall could then also be better assessed.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1985

Coxsackie B, mumps, rubella, and cytomegalovirus specific IgM responses in patients with juvenile-onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in Britain, Austria, and Australia.

Patients from England, Austria, and Australia with recently diagnosed juvenile-onset insulin-dependent diabetes (type 1) mellitus (IDDM) and matched controls were tested for specific IgM responses to Coxsackie B1-5 viruses. 37 of 122 (30%) patients aged less than 15, but only 15 of 204 (6%) controls, were positive (p less than 0.005). Differences in Coxsackie B virus specific IgM responses between patients and controls were statistically significant for patients in England and Austria (p less than 0.005). Coxsackie B virus specific IgM responses were detected in only 3 of 31 patients aged greater than 16. Virus-specific IgM responses were directed against a single serotype, usually Coxsackie B4 or 5, in 23 of 37 (62.5%) children aged less than 15; 10 of 13 (77%) of children aged less than 7 had monotypic responses. Among families of Austrian patients with IDDM, 8 of 79 (10%) siblings had Coxsackie B virus specific IgM responses, 1 of whom subsequently had IDDM, but none of the 80 parents was positive. In contrast, there was no evidence of recent infection by mumps, rubella, or cytomegalovirus (CMV), since mumps-virus specific IgM was present in only 2 of 100 children with IDDM and 5 of 139 controls; no rubella or CMV specific IgM responses were detected in 60 sera from patients with IDDM.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

A family outbreak of toxoplasmosis: a serendipitous finding.

A family outbreak of toxoplasmosis involving five members of a Lebanese family is described. We believe it to be the first reported outbreak of toxoplasmosis in Australia. Kibbi , a traditional Lebanese dish which can occasionally incorporate raw meat, may have been the source of infection. The chance occurrence of an outbreak of hepatitis A in the same family subsequently led us to discover this outbreak.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Chlamydia trachomatis and respiratory disease in infants.

Eleven infants under six months of age with respiratory symptoms and positive results of serological tests for Chlamydia trachomatis, including an infant from whom chlamydiae were isolate, are presented. The three distinct patterns of illness in these infants were a bronchitis with paroxysmal coughing, a bronchiolitis syndrome, and a diffuse afebrile pneumonia. We conclude that chlamydial respiratory disease should be considered in Australian infants with the described features. The diagnosis can be confirmed by immuno-fluorescence.

Bronchiolitis, Viral↗
PubMed1973

The post-mortem diagnosis of influenzal infection by fluorescent IgG, IgA and IgM antibody studies on necropsy blood.

Necropsy blood from cases diagnosed as dying from influenza A was examined for specific antibody in the IgG, IgA and IgM fractions and a specific diagnosis of recent infection was made if either IgM or IgA antibody and low titres of IgG antibody were found. By these criteria a diagnostic rate of 77% was found in those cases from whom no virus was isolated. The use of infected cell monolayers grown on polytetrafluoroethylene-coated slides gave a simple method of carrying out these antibody assays, and the use of necropsy blood did not require any special methods of transport of specimens to the virus laboratory.

Aged↗