Fluorescent antibody studies on the development of dengue-2 virus in Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae).
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T Kuberski.
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The recent epidemic of cholera on the Pacific Ocean atoll of Tarawa, Gilbert Islands renewed interest in the use of coconut water as a rehydration fluid. Fifty-one samples of coconut water from Tarawa were analysed for a variety of constituents to assess its potential usefulness in the oral and parenteral rehydration of patients with cholera and other severe forms of gastroenteritis. Compared to oral rehydration fluids known to be effective in cholera, coconut water was found to have adequate potassium and glucose content, however was relatively deficient in sodium, chloride and bicarbonate. The addition of table salt to the coconut water is suggested to compensate for the sodium and chloride deficiency. In areas of the world where coconuts are plentiful, the advantages of sterility, availability and acceptability make coconut water theoretically feasible for the oral rehydration of patients with severe gastroenteritis when conventional fluids are unavailable.
Viable Angiostrongylus cantonensis was recovered from the cerebrospinal fluid of a 17-month-old boy with eosinophilic meningitis. Neurological findings were minimal, and the child had an uneventful recovery.
Between 1959 and 1976, 34 patients were seen in Hawaii with eosinophilic meningitis. Angiostrongylus cantonensis was recovered from two of these patients. The remaining cases were presumed to be due to this parasite because of clinical and epidemiologic findings. The most likely source of infection for eight patients was ingesting raw terrestrial snails or slugs, and for six patients eating raw or poorly cooked crustaceans. Patients typically presented with severe headache; neck stiffness and fever were usually mild or absent. Paresthesias were noted by most adults. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cell count ranged from 150 to 1500 leukocytes per cubic millimeter, with a mean eosinophil percentage of 38. CSF IgE levels were not abnormal in four patients so studied. Although two deaths occurred, the illness was typically self-limited, resolving completely with no specific treatment.
Clinical observations on ciguatera were collected between 1964 and 1977 on 3,009 patients from several South Pacific island groups. Patients generally presented with neurologic symptoms such as parasthesia, vertigo, and ataxia, in addition to gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Patients with this illness usually became symptomatic less than 24 hours after ingestion of the fish and most patients (76.8%) developed symptoms in less than 12 hours. Significant differences in certain symptoms were noted between Melanesian and Polynesian ethnic groups, suggesting a susceptibility difference, or a difference in the nature of the toxin found in different areas of the Pacific. Being poisoned multiple times appeared to result in a clinically more severe illness than disease observed in patients experiencing ciguatera for the first time.
Eosinophils in the cerebrospinal fluid are an uncommon finding that is most often the result of a helminthic infection of the central nervous system. Information from the recorded literature suggests the differential diagnosis of this clinical observation is relatively limited. Therefore, in the appropriate clinical circumstances, cryptic cases of central nervous system disease might be resolved or the diagnostic possibilities at least narrowed by finding these cells in the cerebrospinal fluid.
Granuloma inguinale has been endemic in Papua New Guinea for at least eighty years and recently appears to be increasing, particularly in the urban centres. Most patients were found to be recent migrants to the Port Moresby area with low socioeconomic status and poor personal hygiene. The disease was found more frequently in males. A possible association between carcinoma of the penis and granuloma inguinale was observed. Lesions were chronic, progressive and located mainly in the genital region. Attempts to culture the causative agent were unsuccessful.
An explosive epidemic of cholera due to Vibrio cholerae, biotype El Tor, serotype Inaba, was centered on the coral atoll of Tarawa, Gilbert Islands. This outbreak was a unique experience in the South and Central Pacific region. The principal mode of spread during the peak of the outbreak was probably through contamination of the main water supply. Tarawa lagoon water and shellfish were found to be contaminated with V. cholerae and ingestion of raw fish and shellfish from the lagoon also served as a source of transmission. This outbreak raises the concern of Rother outbreaks of cholera occuring on remote and poorly equipped Pacific islands where the environmental circumstances are conducive to cholera spread.
An extensive epidemic of dengue type 1 infection with a high incidence of hemorrhagic manifestations occurred on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji beginning early in 1975. Previous dengue outbreaks in this population were such that in 1975 two types of dengue patients were observed, one group of patients experienced primary dengue type 1 infection, whereas another experienced their dengue type 1 infection approximately 4 years after a dengue type 2 infection. Clinical and laboratory findings for the two forms of infection were assessed in patients hospitalized for their disease, usually with hemorrhage. With the exception of virologic and serologic findings, no important differences between these two groups were noted with respect to incidence and nature of hemorrhage and other clinical and laboratory findings. Both types of infection sometimes were associated with thrombocytopenia and low serum levels of the C3 component of complement. Virus was more easily isolated from the primary infection patients and the magnitude of their viremia also was higher. No significant differences were noted in a comparison of the ease of virus isolation from serum or plasma.
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The indirect hemagglutination (IHA) technique was evaluated for use in the serologic study of infection with Trichomonas vaginalis. The IHA test showed that sera from 88% of women attending a venereal disease clinic had antibody to T. vaginalis. The antibody frequency and titers were highest in women who had documented infections due to T. vaginalis. Serologic and cultural evidence of recent or active trichomonal infection was found in 11% of 85 men who had nongonococcal urethritis, but was absent in a control group of 27 men. Clinical findings in ten men with symptomatic genitourinary trichomoniasis are described; all but one had relatively high (greater than or equal to 1:80) IHA antibody titers. Antibody to T. vaginalis was found significantly (P less than 0.005) more often in sera from women than in sera from men in an apparently healthy group of individuals between the ages of 1 and 20 years. The IHA test appears potentially useful for the diagnosis of trichomoniasis in men and in the seroepidemiology of infections due to T. vaginalis.