PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

M M Dayrit

Publications and source records attributed to M M Dayrit.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Outbreak of fatal illness among captive macaques in the Philippines caused by an Ebola-related filovirus.

Following the detection of an Ebola-like virus in cynomolgus macaques recently imported into the United States from The Philippines, studies were initiated to document transmission at export facilities located in the latter country. At one export facility, 52.8% of 161 monkeys that died over a 2.5-month period were shown to be infected with this virus using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect antigen in liver homogenates. A case fatality rate of 82.4% was documented for the infected monkeys. The initial anti-viral antibody prevalence among the captive macaques at this facility was 25.9% (indirect fluorescent antibody titer greater than or equal to 1:16). Followup documented infection of 24.4% of initially seronegative animals and 8.7% of initially seropositive monkeys. Being held in a gang cage versus a single cage was found to be a significant risk factor for subsequent virus infection, and the presence of IFA antibody was shown to predict protection. This study documents unequivocally for the first time the presence of an Ebola-related filovirus in Asia.

Animals

Risk factors for injuries due to the 1990 earthquake in Luzon, Philippines.

On 16 July 1990, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the island of Luzon, Philippines. A case-control study was carried out to identify the risk factors for earthquake-related injuries and at the same time observations were made on the rescue efforts. Being hit by falling objects was the leading cause of injury (34%). Those injured during the tremor were more likely to have been inside buildings constructed of concrete or mixed materials (odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7-4.1) and to have been on the middle floors of multistorey buildings (odds ratio, 3.4; 95% CI, 2.2-5.5). Leaving a building during the earthquake was a protective behaviour (odds ratio, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.2-0.8). Of the 235 survivors who were trapped and rescued alive from the rubble, 99% were rescued within 48 hours of the impact of the tremor. These findings should prove useful in developing seismic safety codes. People should be taught proper evasive actions to take during earthquakes, and training in basic first aid and methods of rescue should be an integral part of community preparedness programmes.

Case-Control Studies